24 Hours
by OriginalName2
Summary: A lot can happen in a day. After Akira is seriously injured, Sadayo rushes to his aid. In the following 24 hours, the two learn more about each other than ever before.
1. Chapter 1

**_\- Twenty Four Hours -_**

* * *

 _Mild Spoilers about the 4th palace. Takes place during the 4th palace after Akira reaches rank 10 with Sadayo Kawakami._

* * *

 **\- 5:00 PM -**

"WAAAGHH"

Several teenagers fell through a dimensional rift and together tumbled to the floor of a certain cafe attic, causing quite a ruckus. They landed in a dog pile with a small cat at the bottom squirming to escape the weight atop of it.

"Holy shit…" a blonde boy gasped as he rolled off the pile and stumbled to the floor.

"Let's… let's never do that again…" a young girl with twin tails whimpered. Picking herself up, but collapsing under her own weight. Her body was noticeably scratched and bruised.

"We… we clearly miscalculated their capabilities…" A short haired brunette grunted as she grabbed a nearby chair to pull herself to her feet.

"Indeed… bit off quite a bit more than we could bare to chew…" A young blue hair man moaned as he leaned against the wall and brushed himself off.

Still lying on the floor was a young man with messy black hair, messier than usual. Like his comrades, he was beaten and bruised, but couldn't bring himself to move.

"A-Akira? Are you alive?" The twin tailed girl asked, shuffling towards him and gently shaking his shoulder.

"Oh shit! Akira?" The blonde boy also reached towards his friend.

The sudden contact brought life to Akira, as if struck by a bolt of lightning he jumped with a start, an act he immediately regretted. Pain shot through every muscle in his body. He gasped for breath and rolled onto his back. His side was especially hurt. His friends watched him closely, afraid to touch him again.

"I'm… I'm alright…" He gasped, waving his hand in the air. "I just… I just need a nap." As he held his side, he could feel a warm, sticky wetness through the fabric of his clothes.

They had made the mistake is going up against a particularly powerful shadow in a particular pyramid palace. It was easy to see early on that they stood no chance against it but escaping it's wrath was a battle in and of itself. It took every last bit of their health and stamina to escape it's clutches.

The room was quiet for several moments, as the group reflected on how they almost lost their lives. "Ann, you and Ryuji-," The brunette spoke up. "-Perhaps we should go get some medicine for Akira and-"

"I'm alright, Makoto, really," Akira was quick to interrupt her. His raspy breath told her otherwise. "Nothing a goodnight sleep can't handle."

Makoto clenched her fist close to her heart. "Are you sure?" She asked. "You took a lot of damage trying to distract it while we escaped."

Akira tried to stand but fell to one knee. he considered himself lucky that his dark outfit made the bloodstain forming in the fabric hard to notice "Really, I'm alright."

His friends all looked at each other. "Akira-" Ann began.

"I'm really fine!" He almost shouted. It hurt to shout. There was a hint of agitation laced in his voice. "I just need some rest."

Makoto got the message. Akira clearly wanted to be left alone for the time being. "We could all use some rest," she said, now able to stand again. "We should all go home, it's been a long day."

"But-" Ryuji began but stopped short as his heart skipped a beat from Makoto's sharp glare. He looked at the defeated Akira and sighed. "Fine, whatever." He grumbled and turned to leave. "We'll kick it's ass next time," he said as he headed down the stairs.

After watching Ryuji leave, Ann glanced over at Akira for several seconds before turning to the cat. "Take care of him, Morgana," she whispered in the cat's ear.

"Anything for you, Lady Ann," the cat responded. And with that, each of Akira's friends slogged down the stairs and out of the cafe.

Their footsteps could be heard as they left, Akira silently waited for their movement to fade into the distance before he re-collapsed onto the floor. "Akira!" Morgana exclaimed as he scurried over to him. The boy's eyes were closed but he was still breathing. Morgana could tell he was worse than he was letting on. He could smell blood in the air.

"Stupid…" Akira clenched his fists. "Stupid stupid stupid!" He slammed his fist into the floor, causing pain to shoot through his body again. "Almost got us killed… almost got us killed…"

"We should go to Takemi and make sure you're okay," Morgana said worriedly, biting his friend's jacket and trying to pull him. The small cat wasn't able to do much good though. Takemi wouldn't be in her clinic at this hour. "Come on Akira… I can't let you lay here and die. Takemi, Boss, Ms. Kawakami I don't care who, you have to call someone to take care of you."

Akira gritted his teeth. He felt so weak and pathetic having to call for help like this. Takemi and Sojiro didn't know about Akira's life as a Phantom Thief and they would certainly figure it out if they found him in such a state. Kawakami however…

"Look, Ms. Kawakami knows that you're a Phantom Thief, Akira," Morgana said as he pawed his friend. "You need someone to take care of you." He worriedly eyed the blood that dripped to the floor.

Akira felt like shit and he probably looked like shit. Based on the concern in Morgana's tone, he wasn't looking very healthy. In that moment, he wanted to die. He was a failure who had gotten his friends in danger and almost had them killed. But as his mind drifted from his darker thoughts to Kawakami, he realized Morgana was right. He needed to be looked at, and Kawakami was the light at the end of this dark tunnel.

 **\- 5:10 PM -**

It was a good night to curl up with a book. Sadayo Kawakami had just finished taking a hot bath and collapsed onto her couch wearing what could only be described as her lazy clothes. She had one arm draped over her eyes and the other hanging lazily off the couch as she quietly contemplated if she wanted to read or take a nap. The quiet pitter patter of a light rain against her apartment window made her feel drowsy. Ever since she had left her job as a maid, she found herself with more time on her hands than she really knew what to do with, especially now that it was summer time and there was no homework to grade. The idea that she even had time to nap was foreign to her.

Moving her arm from over her eyes, she reached for her cell phone, turning it on to check the day. It was Saturday. Usually Friday or Saturday was the day Akira would call her. A habit that had formed during her time as a maid that carried over to their relationship.

She opened her contacts, typing a quick text to see if he was there but hesitated. He was probably busy doing Phantom Thief business. They had been all over the news as of late so she could only imagine he had his hands full. She felt dumb and childish, laying around contemplating if she should send a text to a boy. She was his teacher after all, maybe she could ask if he needed help with studying or something. That wouldn't make much sense though considering they were on summer break. Sadayo would have though having time to take off during summer would feel fantastic, and while it was relaxing, she found herself missing being able to go to school to see Akira almost every day.

"Ugh, get a hold of yourself," she muttered to nobody. Biting her bottom lip, she stared at the single worded text just waiting to be sent. A simple "Hey" was but a tap away from sending. She worried about bothering him. "Well whatever, I'm his girlfriend, right?" she told herself, trying to sound confident. "Girlfriends have complete texting privileges… I can text him whenever I want." She still wasn't use to seeing herself as a girlfriend, much less saying it aloud. "Just suck it up, Sadayo. You're a big girl. We love each other. Surely he'd be happy to get a text from you."

…

"Uuuuuggghhh," She groaned and rolled on her side as her fear of coming across as clingy overtook her. _What if he's hanging out with his friends and they see I'm texting him? Would they jump to conclusions? Doesn't he hang around Makoto now? Oh god if Makoto found out she would tell Principal Kobyakawa._

She set her phone down and stared at it for a minute before picking it back up again and staring at her text. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her thumb slowly drew closer to the touch screen.

Just as she was about to tap the phone, it began to ring and vibrate in her hand as the screen lit up with a call notification. "H-He's calling me…" She murmured, a fit of glee washing over her. She quickly accepted the call and put her phone up to her ear. "Hey, I was just about the text you," she greeted.

 _"Help…"_

There was a thud on the other side of the call accompanied by was sounded like desperate meowing. "A-Akira!?" She exclaimed, quickly jumping to her feet. "Akira!"

 **\- 5:20 PM -**

A groan escaped Akira's lungs as he laid on the floor in the middle of he cafe, the yellow telephone dangled from it's wire as Sadayo's voice could be heard on the other end. "Akira!?" he heard her shout. Though her voice was drowned out by Morgana's.

"Hang in there Akira!" He exclaimed, continually pawing him. "Just stay awake!" Morgana's pawing was annoying but it was the only thing that was keeping him conscious. Morgana looked at the phone to hear Sadayo's worried voice in the background. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my-" Accompanied by a thunk that sounded like a door slamming shut.

"Sadayo…" Akira groaned.

"She's coming," Morgana insisted, pawing Akira's face. "You have to stay conscious!"

The trek down the stairs really knocked out what was left of Akira's energy. Stupid mistake, why didn't he just call her on his cell? He felt bad for causing her trouble, not that now was not the time to be thinking about curtesy. As he laid on the floor, he could feel the bleeding getting worse. It was no longer just a little bleeding. He must of acquired the wound during the battle and his tumble to the floor opened the wound further.

"Morgana… bandages…" he said. The cat nodded and scurried off. He knew Morgana wasn't going to be of much help applying the bandages but at least they'd be ready when Sadayo showed up.

He desperately hung to consciousness as he heard Morgana's ruckus. The cat pushed the first aid kit down the stairs and dragged it over to him.

The door burst open so suddenly that both Akira and Morgana jumped with a start. Sadayo stood in the door way with a dripping umbrella over her head and wearing a loose tank top and pajama shorts. She had gotten there surprisingly fast. "Oooooh my god oh my god oh my god," she tossed the umbrella to the side and knelt down next to the bleed Akira, her eye caught the first aid kit.

"I'm sorry," Akira murmured, as he watched her eye welling with tears. It clearly pained her greatly to see him in such a broken state.

Sadayo wiped her eyes and grabbed the first aid kit. "Stupid, I'm never letting you do something like this again," she opened up the kit and set it down as she grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, the front buttons popping off and scattering in every direction. She gasped audibly and covered her mouth as she saw a deep, bleeding gash on his side.

"I need to clean this," she hand a hand on his chest. She looked around desperately. "Alcohol, I need alcohol." She jumped up and hurried behind the counter as she scrambled to find some. After making coffee at the cafe several times she was quite familiar with where everything was.

Akira was now desperately trying to stay awake, but a sense of relief washed over him. Somehow he knew he was going to be okay. His vision began to flicker and his eyelids felt like they weighed several extra pounds. He could hear Sadayo's voice in the distance but that only made him sleepier.

He could feel himself falling out of consciousness but now he knew he'd be okay, and with that he slipped out of reality and into dreams.

 **\- ?:? AM -**

Akira's eyes fluttered open but he couldn't see. A soft groan escaped his lungs as he blinked profusely. As he remembered the recent events his first thought was that he had gone blind, but as the smudges of black began to take shape he realized he was simply in the dark. He recognized the familiar softness of the bed he laid in, being the one in his room.

"Kawa-" He began to say as he started to pick himself up but a sudden pain in his side caused him to gasp in pain and lay back down. How did Sadayo get him up the stairs to his room?

A feminine groan sounded just above him. With his vision adjusting to the dark room, Akira could see the shape of a woman towering over him. He realized his head was resting in Sadayo's lap as she dozed in his bed, propped up against the corner of the wall and a small pillow tucked in the crook of her neck. She must of awoken to Akira's sudden movement as her eyes slowly opened with a groggy glaze over them.

It was hard to tell what was happening with it being so dark, but Akira could feel Sadayo shift a little as his head rested in her lap. She was definitely awake now. "Are you awake?" he could hear the fainted whisper from the woman, who was likely worried about waking him up if she had just been imagining things.

Akira let out a soft hum in response. He could feel a warm hand on his cheek. "I was so afraid," Sadayo said, her voice soft and gentle.

Reaching up, Akira put his hand over hers. "I'm sorry," he replied.

A chuckle came from Sadayo. "You better be," she murmured as leaned down and kissed his forehead. "You really are a troublemaker." Akira could tell from her tone while she was trying to mask it with sweetness, there was worry and melancholy in her voice.

"I don't..." Akira was trying to find the right words to say. "I don't know what I would of done without you."

HIs words warmed her heart, but the gravity of the situation made her not dwell on them for too long. "I thought you were dying on the floor when I got here," she told him. "But it was really just that wound you have on your side. Stopping the bleeding and getting some rest was all you really needed, I would recommend you getting stitches for that gash though so it can heal properly."

Now Akira reached up with one of his hands and placed it on Sadayo's cheek. "You're the best..." he said softly. He could feel her cheeks warming up under his palm.

Another yawn came from Sadayo. "I would scold you for your recklessness but it's been an exhausting night for both of us," she said as she ran her fingers through Akira's hair. "And I just don't have the energy for that right now."

Akira let out a sigh, though he was off the hook for now, he could sense a verbal lashing in the near future. Maybe Morgana could help him out of it. _Where is Morgana?_ he thought to himself.

"Are you comfortable? Or should I move?" Sadayo's question broke his train of thought.

Akira shifted his position a little bit but his head remained firmly in her lap. "This is perfect," he assured her. He could feel Sadayo's muscles relax as he said that, her body ready to submit itself to a peaceful rest.

"Mmm good…" Sadayo moaned as she slowly began to doze off again. "… love you."

A blush tinted Akira's cheeks, not that anybody could see it. But he shook it off and closed his eyes. "Love you too."

 **\- 9:00 AM -**

A aroma of coffee meeting Akira's nose was enough to stir him from his sleep. With just enough light slipping through the slats of his window to see, Akira assumed it was early morning. He checked his side to find the bandage Sadayo had applied still held firmly. He was surprised she knew how to apply the bandage so well, though she did seem like something of a jack of all trades.

Looking around the room, Akira couldn't help but notice Morgana was still nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had decided to sleep downstairs, although that was rather out of character for him. Sadayo, however, hadn't moved from where she was since he had fallen back asleep, although now she was slouching against the wall awkwardly, her pillow had fallen from it's place nuzzled in her neck. Her hair was messier than usual and a strap of her tank top precariously slipped from her shoulder and had slid a bit down her arm.

Regardless of the seemingly uncomfortable position, she slept soundly. Though the twitch of her brow and a soft murmuring hinted at a dream.

Her eyes shot open, a fearful aura emanating from her gaze. "H-Homework!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I have homework to grade!"

…

"A-ah…" She grunted. "My neck feels… really stiff." Likely from the rather unusual position she had been sleeping in the previous night. As her jumbled thoughts came together, she remembered where she was and what she had been doing. She looked down at Akira who was looking up at her. He watched as her face slowly got redder.

"We could switch places," Akira offered.

"Ha, very funny. Good morning to you too," Sadayo mumbled as she yawned and stretched. An audible *pop* could be heard from her neck. "The coffee smells so good, I could really go for a cup."

Both of them stiffened as Kawakami finished her thought. The smell of coffee meant Sojiro was downstairs working the cafe. Sadayo was dressed in a loose tank top and pajama shorts and Akira was still very clearly banged up from the night before. If Sojiro saw them coming downstairs, especially together, they were dead.

"Oh my god," Sadayo covered her mouth with her hands. They were trapped. There was no way out of Akira's room other than through the cafe.

"We can escape through the window," Akira said, taking Sadayo's hand to calm her down. She was already becoming very visibly stressed.

"What? No!" She said in a hushed voice. "You're in no condition to be climbing out a second story window. And it's broad daylight, We'd be seen immediately!"

She wasn't wrong. But with the window being a no go, Akira was straight out of ideas. Their only chance was if Sojiro were to leave, but that was very unlikely during open hours. "I think we're stuck."

Sadayo's hand grasped Akira's tighter. "Oh my god," she murmured. "Does he come up here?"

Akira shook his head. "Never, as far as I'm aware," he assured her. "As long as we don't make too much ruckus." Sadayo relaxed a little at his words, but she was clearly still feeling tense.

Her hand began to fidget nervously as she rubbed her thumb against his palm. "When does he usually close the cafe?" she asked Akira.

The boy was quiet for a moment as he thought. "Mmm, usually when he feels like it. Today is Sunday so likely around five in the evening."

Sadayo reached over and grabbed her phone to check the time. It was just passed nine in the morning. "Oh boy…" she murmured.

"Well, we have been saying we wanted to spend more time with each other," Akira said a bit jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood.

Sadayo sighed. "That's true but I was hoping for something a little more romantic than being holed up in your attic in fear of your guardian finding us…" But truth be told, her heart was a bit aflutter with excitement. Her time with Akira was indeed limited and in their current situation, prying eye always kept them at bay. If she was going to be trapped somewhere for several hours, she was glad it at least would be with Akira.

 **\- 9:30 AM -**

"Let me check your bandages," Sadayo offered, she now stood in the middle of Akira's room massaging her stiff neck. Akira sat upright in his bed, his eyes seemed to be scanning the room for something.

Kneeling in front of him, Sadayo leaned close to inspect the bandages and make sure they weren't coming loose. Akira could feel her warm breathing against his bare skin, causing his hair to stand on end. "Hm," she hummed, "I don't think it would be wise to apply fresh ones just yet." She still sounded worried. "Do you have somewhere you can go for stitches?"

Akira nodded. "Dr. Takemi just down the road might be able to," he said. "She uh… owes me a few favors…"

Sadayo looked up at him, her eyes squinting in suspicion. "What?" she asked, her voice ringing with a stern tone. She rose back to her feet, towering over Akira. "Doctor, huh? Are you looking into other, older age women, darling?" The cute pet name at the end was more of a threat than anything.

"W-what?" Akira asked. Putting his hands up defensively. "No way! I am not- there's nothing between us."

"Is she cuter than me?" Sadayo crossed her arms, her glare never faltering.

"N-no! Never! Not my type!" Akira waved his arms about.

A snicker escaped Sadayo's throat. Akira's expression fell flat as he realized she was toying with him. "Not funny…" he grumbled.

Sadayo stifled a laugh. "It was kind of funny," she snickered. "You tease me all the time, I got to get a few licks in."

"I'm injured, and vulnerable," Akira said, faking a hurt tone. "And here I am being played by my girlfriend."

"Aw, poor baby," Sadayo responded, she gently took both of Akira's shoulders and pushed him into a laying down position as she climbed into the bed just above him. "Does someone need a little more affection?" Leaning down, she gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

…

"That is a little more my speed."

Kawakami smiled and brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face before she kissed him again. "God you are so unromantic."

"Sorry, I'm trying my best," Akira said. He hadn't managed to build up much charm.

"Now…" Sadayo said, tracing her index finger down Akira's chest. The boy held his breath. "… you've have to tell me just how you earned those 'favors' from that doctor."

Akira stiffened a little, and Sadayo could tell. "No. Jokes. This time," she warned him. While it wasn't cheating she was worried about, she had seen the clinic several times as she had come into the area and it looked rather sketchy.

"I um…" Akira bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to lie to her. "I'm her guinea pig for untested drugs."

…

Akira realized he should of at least tried to sugar coat it. "You what!?" Sadayo exclaimed. Akira panicked and quickly covered her mouth. The teacher remembered she was still hiding out in a boy's room and needed to be quiet. "Sorry," her voice was muffled as she spoke through Akira's hand. Both of them were watching the stairway up. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though anyone heard them, or at least cared to come up and investigate.

After a minute or so, the two breathed a sigh of relief and Akira removed his hand from Kawakami's mouth. She fell on her back on the bed beside them as they both relaxed again. "It's only been 30 minutes and we're already getting loud," Akira said. "We're so dead."

 **\- 10:00 AM -**

"That sounds really dangerous and I don't approve," Kawakami said. She sat at Akira's desk as she listened to his explanation of his involvement with the sketchy doctor. She had one leg crossed over the other and her fingers drummed against the wood of the desk. "Trying untested drugs could end up being a fatal."

"I trust her," Akira tried to assure her. The scenario certainly sounded better in his head, telling it verbally did sound a bit ludicrous. "She's friendly. She would never give me something she thought might hurt me."

From what she had heard, this doctor did sounds like a good person. The whole idea of Akira trying "untested" drugs was still just a bit much. "Okay but I'm coming with you next time," she said.

"W-what?" Akira said with surprised.

"Yeah, of course," Kawakami crossed her arms. "As your girlfriend, I have to make sure you don't do anything stupid. As your teacher, you're lucky I'm letting you off the hook that easily."

Thinking about it, if the school heard anything about this, he was done for. That stacked with his criminal record and he'd never find a school that would accept him ever again. If anything, Sadayo was making him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"Ugh, I need a shower." Sadayo's complaining interrupted his thoughts. She was messing with her hair. The usually brown mess was even messier than usual. The bed head look suited her well though. Akira couldn't help but notice how despite the tangly mess, she somehow looked less stressed now than she normally did at school. He watched as she checked her phone. "It's still only ten in the morning… What do you suggest we do?"

 **\- 10:45 AM -**

"Ha! In your face!" Kawakami exclaimed, though she was careful to keep her voice in a hushed tone. Akira lied down on the floor and let the gaming controller in his hand drop beside him. They both were positioned on the floor in from of Akira's old TV, which was booted up and showing a "Victory!" screen.

Akira's homeroom teacher was surprisingly good at video games. Or maybe he was just surprisingly bad at them. Kawakami was also much more competitive than Akira expected. When she started off with the game poorly she whined and complained, but as she got a handle of the controls and began winning she had a complete change of heart.

"Let's go again," Akira said, determination in his eyes. "Best out of five. Loser treats the winner to a dinner."

Sadayo looked at him with surprise. "Are you sure? I've won seven times in a row now."

Akira's eyes were practically glowing with a fiery passion. He had to prove his worth in the game. What he needed was a goal and prize in his sights to really motivate him. Kawakami could tell he was serious, she couldn't help but wonder where the sudden sense of determination magically appeared from. "Okay… if you say so…" She gripped her controller tightly. "But no where too expensive…"

Akira nodded, but his eyes remained fixated on the screen. He was ready to go. Kawakami gulped as his new found vigor was bit intimidating. She hoped he was actually listening to her rules.

 **\- 11:00 AM -**

"Oh! I win! Oh my god I won!" Sadayo gleefully clasped her hands together. Akira had returned to his defeated position laying down on the floor. He had certainly put up a better fight than he had before, and yet he lay defeated once again.

Akira looked away as Kawakami mischievously looked over in his direction. "Oh I wonder where I want to go…" Sadayo said, crawling over to Akira. "Sushi certainly sounds nice." It was no wonder Morgana was fond of Sadayo. The boy gulped as he could feel her fingers trace his skin. "Maybe we should dress up just for the occasion."

An audible groan came from Akira, in hindsight, his bet wasn't really his greatest idea. But he was so caught up in the moment that he hadn't put much thought into it. That being said, spending a nice dinner with Sadayo sounded nice. But he continued to lay there, quietly avoiding eye contact as Sadayo ran her hand across his bandages.

…

"Hey…" Sadayo began. She shifted uncomfortably. "How did… how did that all happen…?" Even without the gash in his side, Akira was pretty beat up. His torso was dotted with bruises and marks. Sadayo had been dying to know what did this to him. Hell she had been dying to know what being a Phantom Thief entailed. She really had no ideas or details on it other than the assumption that the job itself sounded dangerous.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Akira murmured quietly. "It's something even I haven't fully wrapped my head around." He was caught a little off guard as he felt Kawakami lay down beside him and spoon him.

"I'll believe every last word you say," she promised. Somehow, Akira was inclined to believe her.

"Okay but um… maybe we shouldn't do this on the floor," he said. "The bed would be more comfortable."

 **\- 12:00 PM -**

Sadayo wasn't sure what she had expected when Akira said she wouldn't believe him but she certainly was expecting to hear something a bit more realistic than something like jumping into a meta verse fighting demons of all shapes and sizes. "Well… that's… um… that's something," was all she could say.

"You don't believe me," Akira said knowingly.

He could feel Sadayo sigh into his neck. They had moved their spooning to the bed. "I want to believe you," She said. Akira certainly had no reason to lie to her. "Are you sure that doctor's drugs aren't just getting to your head?"

Akira huffed in amusement. "I went into the metaverse before I started doing that," he assured her. "Just ask Ryuji."

The whole idea of being able to change someone's heart seemed so bizarrely impossible as it was. A person's darkest side manifesting into a palace in a different dimension was pushing it for Sadayo. But it was also just a bit too crazy to be something Akira would come up with on his own. He was a clever student, if he was really going to lie to her about it, he would have thought of something more believable.

"Can you take me there?" she asked. He had explained how the phone app worked and it sounded like it was capable of dragging anybody close by into the metaverse.

"Absolutely not," there was no hesitation in Akira's answer. "It's way too dangerous."

"But-"

"No. Don't you get it? How do you think I ended up like this?" Akira said, his finger tips traced across his bandage wounds.

Kawakami tell from his muscles tensing that he was getting stirred up. "Akira, calm down," she said gently.

It was all a bitter reminder of his failure. It was as if all his bottled up frustrations and emotions from the previous night were bubbling up and ready to explode as he was reminded of the near death experience he had put his closest friends through. He had been able to distract himself from it while in the comfort of his girlfriends presence but he knew the guilt would resurface.

"I almost-" he bit his bottom lip. "I almost got my friends killed, how could I promise to keep you safe?"

"Okay, alright," Kawakami said gently, she tightened her hold around his waist. "We won't go." If this metaverse was really as Akira had described, it was a place she would desperately want to see for herself. But right now, in this moment, she knew better than to push him. As they laid there quietly, she contemplated what she should do. She was afraid to probe Akira further, lest he become more upset. But perhaps putting the whole thing out there would relieve him. Keeping everything bottled up was unhealthy after all. "Akira…" she began. "What happened in there?"

…

"The most recent palace… Futaba's…" He began. "I made a poor judgment call. We tried to sneak past an enemy we knew was too strong. Got a little too careless and that resulted in an ambush. We barely escaped by the skin of our teeth."

Sadayo wasn't sure who Futaba was, but that detail wasn't important to her at that moment. "But everyone made it out okay?"

"Barely."

"Barely is better than being dead," Sadayo told him. "You're blaming yourself but you're their leader. They agreed they would put their trust in you and at the end of the day… you got them home. Sure, they may be a little banged up, but you made the right call and got everyone out alive."

"Makoto would have done better."

Sadayo shook her head. "Makoto's leadership abilities are very different from yours. She's calculative, but not quick on her feet. She can find the best way out of a problem but it takes time." She assured him. "You may not have that same ability but you react quickly, and easily adapt to the situation."

Though her words didn't erase the sting of defeat and guilt, they helped ease them. "How would you know that? You've never seen us fight." The question came out ruder than he meant it to be, but Sadayo didn't seem to mind.

"I've been your homeroom teacher for how many months now? Not to mention I've been your maid," was her answer. "I'd say I've picked up on a few things about you along the way."

Akira rolled over to face Sadayo, much to her surprise. She blushed for a moment at the sudden realization of their closeness. She shivered as he placed a hand on her cheek. "You're really good at this consoling thing."

"Well now you're just ruining the moment," Sadayo said with a pout. "But thank you, I am a high school teacher after all. I better be good at consoling."

Akira smiled. "Sorry, I'll make it up to you," he said.

Kawakami raised a brow. "Hm? What do you mean?"

 **\- 12:30 PM -**

"Mmm mmm! More…"

The bed squeaked quietly beneath the couple as Akira aggressively kissed Sadayo. He was on top of her and had her pinned to the bed. They both grabbed each other's hair to pull themselves closer. The bite marks Kawakami left on Akira blended in with his other scratches and bruises from his latest endeavor. The hickies on Kawakami's neck were much more conspicuous.

Kawakami had smacked Akira's hand away the first few times he had placed a hand on her breast, but eventually gave into the moment and let him have his way. She bit his bottom lip and tugged for a moment before they broke part, though her hands were placed firmly on either side of his head. "God I love you…" she huffed hotly. They had kissed before but somehow they found themselves lost in the moment this time. Perhaps the danger made it hotter. Kawakami worried she would let them take things too far.

"Sorry I keep grabbing your boob," Akira apologized. "It's not on purpose it just feels natural."

Sadayo smirked. "Yeah right," she said. "You just want to feel me up."

She was caught by surprise by a sudden squeeze from Akira, causing her to squirm beneath him. "I mean I won't deny that it feels great," he assured her. "I'm just like… I don't know what I'm trying to say is-"

"Akira…" Sadayo stoped him. "You are so bad about ruining the moment. This so unromantic."

"What am I doing wrong?"

Sadayo sighed. "Okay well first don't say 'boob' during moments of intimacy. Also don't apologize for trying to be intimate." A pout returned to her face. "You know, for a student who always seems so calm and collected, you really don't know how to just go with the flow sometimes."

"Go with the flow and don't say boobs. Got it," he said with a confident nod.

"Okay but there's more to it than that I-mmmph!" Her sentence was interrupted as Akira pressed his lips against her's again. She didn't hesitate to return his kiss and soon she was pulling on his hair again. Akira was surprised by how aggressive Kawakami was, but he certainly didn't mind.

They didn't hear a curious Sojiro step over to the foot of the staircase leading to the attic. At first he thought he had just missed Akira leave the cafe, which seemed unusual, but as time went on he thought he had heard noise coming from up stairs. But from the noise of the TV and equipment and the chatter of customers he wasn't really sure if he was hearing anything.

 _"Oh Akira…!"_

It wasn't a voice that Sojiro recognized but he got the gist of what was going on up there. His mouth curled into a smirk as he walked back down the hall and returned to his usual place behind the counter. He cranked the volume on the television up a little to make sure the noise would be masked from the customers.

"A-alright!" Sadayo said, covering her mouth and blush with one hand and pushed Akira off her with the other. "W-we need to stop."

Akira wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Sadayo looked very flustered underneath him. The strap from her tank top hung off her shoulder just low enough to see her bra underneath.

"We need to stop this before we let this get to far," Sadayo spoke as she pulled her tank top up and combed her fingers through the tangled mess of hair on her head. "If we keep going I'll…" Her face got redder as her voice trailed off.

An exhausted sigh escaped Akira as he laid down next to Sadayo, his arm hung off the edge of the bed. "Did I do better the second time?"

Sadayo had her head turned away from him and facing the wall. She was too embarrassed to look at him. "Y-yes… you did better."

 **\- 1:00 PM -**

A low rumble came from Sadayo's stomach. She grimaced at the noise as she picked up her phone to check on the time. "Ugh…" she groaned, sprawled out lazily across the couch. She was wearing Akira's glasses in jest, though the boy found that the glasses suited her quite nicely. "I'm getting hungry but the cafe is nowhere close to closing…"

Unfortunately Akira didn't keep any food up in his room. Any snacks he ever did have were quickly eaten by his friends when they would come over for a visit or a meeting. Though he was hungry as well, a smile crept onto his face. It was unusual to see Sadayo in such a state and to hear her whine about it.

"When this is all over, you're taking me somewhere to get a filling and healthy dinner," Kawakami pointed to Akira, who hadn't moved from the bed. Her head hung upside down off the side of the couch and her hair draped just above the floor. She noticed that his gaze seemed to be set elsewhere in the room. "What are you looking for?" She asked, it was something he had been doing from time to time since they had woken up.

"Hm?" Akira hummed. Though he hadn't really noticed it himself, his attention was slowly drifting elsewhere as a worried thought tugged at his mind. "Morgana… my cat. I haven't seen him all day."

Kawakami sat up on the couch. Likewise, she hadn't seen the feline since she was woken up. "He was here last night," she said. "He refused to leave your side until I got you up stairs and we fell asleep."

Turning to look at her curiously, Akira tilted his head as he asked. "How did you get me up here?"

"What, why? Is feminine, physical strength not attractive?" She teased. The idea of Kawakami carrying him up the stairs bridal style put a smile on Akira's face. Though the smile went away as he realized that was probably what happened to him. He could practically feel his masculinity being sapped from his soul.

"Does Morgana wander off often?" Kawakami asked, breaking Akira's train of thought.

"Not really, but he can take care of himself when he does," Akira responded. "I just hope he's not getting himself into any trouble."

 **\- 1:05 PM -**

"No! Ms. Doctor Lady! you have to listen to me!" Morgana explained. He was being held by Dr. Takemi in the clinic. "Akira is hurt! He needs your medical expertise!"

"My you're a noisy one," Takemi said with a silly grin as she tapped Morgana on the nose with her index finger. She couldn't help but have a silly grin on her face. "You should come visit me more often."

Morgana had never taken Takemi to be such a cat person. That overlooked detail was costing him precious time as she seemed to have no intention from letting him escape his clutches. He could only hope she wasn't holding onto him so she could turn him into another one of her guinea pigs.

That being said, the way she gently scratched just behind his ears felt _wonderful_. Morgana couldn't help but purr with glee. "Ahhh, a little to the left and-" he shook his head. "No! Wait! I need your help!" The doctor, of course, couldn't understand Morgana and could only hear his purrs and meows.

Takemi laughed in delight. "Oh you like that don't you," she said as she rolled him over and and stroked his stomach. She acted so tough and cold when other's were around, but when she was by herself, Takemi was practically a different person.

"Akira… I failed you…" Morgana murmured in defeat as he submitted himself to his belly rub. Maybe he would come here more often.

 **\- 2:00 PM -**

Akira's phone buzzed, causing it to wiggle it's way towards the ledge of his desk. Kawakami picked it up for him and turned it on. "It's Makoto," she said, handing him the phone. Akira took it and opened his messages to see the group chat was active. He let out a sigh of relief as everyone reported that they were okay, though they were still feeling a bit sore from the night before. He was surprised to find Makoto had messaged him privately.

"I know you're hurt more than you let on last night. Do you need me to come over?"

Akira looked up at Kawakami. "Can Makoto come over?" He asked. He watched as the color left the skin on Sadayo's face. "Kidding, kidding." His phone made frantic tapping noises as he texted Makoto back.

"No need to worry."

He was used to keeping things brief in texts. He tossed his phone on the bed and turned to Sadayo, who was stretching and letting out a long, quiet yawn. "Maybe we could just nap through the rest of the day," she murmured with tired, watery eyes.

"Seems little too risky to let our guards down like that," Akira replied. Sadayo knew that napping was more wishful thinking than anything. His phone buzzed again.

"Somehow that response makes me worry more. Are you sure you're okay?" It was another text from Makoto.

Sadayo looked over Akira's shoulder to look at his phone. "That's classic Makoto, always looking out for her classmates," she commented. "Although based on your condition last night, it's not hard to see why she was worrying.

The phone buzzed again. "I'm in the area, I can stop by."

Akira's thumbs began to quickly fly about the screen. "No I'm really alright. I just need some rest." The last thing he needed was Makoto coming to his room to find the homeroom teacher with him in her pajamas. Makoto was persistent though. Both Akira and Sadayo feared she would insist on coming up anyways. Kawakami was already scanning the room for somewhere to hide.

"Okay. But please tell me if you need something." Makoto responded. As Sadayo's stomach growled again, Akira had half a mind to ask Makoto to deliver food but he new there wasn't going to be any good way of going about that without getting caught.

"Thanks," was all he responded with, a sigh of relief escaped his lungs.

"Who does she think she is, your girlfriend?" Sadayo teased.

Akira shivered a little at the thought. Makoto was a great girl but he could only imagine what being in a relationship with the student president would be like. That being said he was dating his teacher. He figured it would be hypocritical to judge that based on her position.

 **\- 3:00 PM -**

"This is certainly one way to lose my appetite," Sadayo said as she tossed Akira's bloody bandages on the floor. She had decided now was the time to replace them with fresh ones. The ones she had done the previous night were applied a bit sloppily due to the urgency of the situation rushing her. Now she could reapply them more carefully and so that they would last longer. The previous bandages had gotten loose due to their previous physical activities.

Akira remained silent as she worked. He felt like a child who was dangerously on the verge of getting in trouble. Kawakami had always been strangely supportive of his work as a Phantom Thief, but he could tell the reality of the situation had set in for her when she saw him helplessly bleeding on the floor the night before. It wouldn't be unreasonable for her to tell him not to do it anymore. Demanding that he stayed safe was only a sign of how much she cared for him.

Watching as Sadayo bit her lower lip as she worked, Akira let out a soft sigh. He could feel that her hands were shaking as she worked.

"It hurts…"

Akira tilted his head as he heard Sadayo murmur those words. A chill ran down his spine as she spoke. "It hurts to see you like this…" She said. Akira closed his eyes, the talk he had been dreading had inevitably arrived. "I didn't… I didn't know it was this dangerous." She ran her finger tips across the newly applied bandage.

"I didn't want you to worry," Akira said quietly. He took Sadayo's quivering hands into his.

"I know… but…" Sadayo had a hard time finding the right words to say. Her emotions were bubbling up uncontrollably. She wasn't angry. She didn't blame him for not telling her how dangerous it was. Though the question had always danced in Kawakami's mind, now she wanted nothing more than to forget. The memory of finding Akira on the floor about to pass out was burned into her skull, and while the antics of the day and the worry of being caught had been enough to distract her, reapplying the bandages only brought the painful memories flooding back.

She couldn't stop her hands from trembling, even in his warm grasp. "I want to tell you that your stupid and reckless and to never go back there again," she said. "I want to tell you to stop being a Phantom Thief. But I know you can't just end this."

Her fist clenched. "How am I suppose to sleep at night?" She asked. "Lying there wondering if you're alive… wondering if you got hurt but you couldn't make it to the phone this time…" She withdrew her hands from his grasp to wipe her eyes.

…

"If I asked you to stop… would you?"

Akira didn't know how to answer that. It wasn't the sort of question he could answer on the spot.

"That's… that's not a fair question," Sadayo sighed, frustratedly running her hand through her hair. She looked away from him, her mind running a mile a minute. "I'm just being selfish," she muttered.

"It's not selfish," Akira corrected her.

"It is!" Sadayo shot back. "You're out there helping people. You're changing things for the better. And all I can think about it myself."

"Sadayo…"

"You and the Phantom Thieves fixed my problem and now I want you to stop. How could that not be selfish?"

"Sadayo-"

"How could I have such a self centered mindset? There are people that count on you. But it still hurts so much to think about you throwing yourself in the middle of danger and I-"

Her ranting was cut short as Akira firmly placed both hands on the side of her hand and turned her to face him. The crystal clear determination in his eyes left Sadayo speechless. "It's not selfish," he spoke. The words echoed in Sadayo's mind. "I couldn't stop being a Phantom Thief, even if you asked."

The words stung, even though Sadayo already knew that to be true, but the tone of Akira's voice told her he hated saying that. He didn't want to choose the Phantom Thieves over her, but he knew that he had to. "I love you, Sadayo. I really, honestly do, more than I've loved anybody. I love you more than I love being a Phantom Thief but…"

If Akira dropped some corny, comic book superhero line she was going to smack him.

"I don't want to see you go. But if this burden is too much to bare, I would never hold it against you for walking out." Sadayo's eyes watered again as he spoke.

"N-No! No I-" Now Sadayo put her hands on either side her his head and drew him closer. "I don't want that I just…" her voice trailed off, she rested her forehead against his. "… I just wish I could forget last night."

They sat there in silence for several moments.

Sadayo bit her bottom lip. "I just want to know that you're okay," she said. "Every night… I want to know that you aren't dead."

She stood up suddenly. "I know what I want," she said. Akira tilted his head in confusion. "Every night I want to hear from you that you're alright. Text me. Call me. Whatever, I don't care, I'll just rest easier knowing you're okay. That would help me sleep at night."

A small smile formed on Akira's face. He gave her a nod of approval. If it helped calm her anxiety, that was all that mattered, and it wasn't like he couldn't take the time to text her at night before going to bed. "That's a great idea," he told her.

Sadayo breathed a sigh of relief to his answer. She wrapped her arms around his head and held him close for a moment, kissing his forehead. "Thank you, it would mean the world to me."

Akira chuckled. "Honestly we should of done that from the start."

A hum came from Sadayo. "Yeah I certainly wouldn't mind hearing from you every night before I go to bed, regardless of whether you were risking your life," she said as she let go of him. "And if you forget, I'm going to have to punish you."

Akira's cheeks turned a shade brighter and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "O-oh that's-"

"Like give you extra homework"

 **\- 4:00 pm -**

It was the dawn of the final hour. Akira and Sadayo could be found laying quietly in Akira's bed. Sojiro had turned off the TV downstairs and the cafe was slowly emptying, meaning the two upstairs had to be more quiet than they had before. Akira wasn't sure what would happen from there. He feared Sojiro would come up out of curiosity having not seen Akira all day. It wasn't uncommon for him to come through the cafe once or twice a day.

If Sojiro decided to come up, it was over. There was no little nook or cranny for Sadayo to hide in. All they could hope for was to be left alone.

The quietness and inactivity only reminded the two of how hungry they both were, neither having eaten anything since the day before. Their stomachs were both growling as if it were a competition. The discomfort in hunger was just about the only thing keeping Kawakami awake as she laid in bed. Akira's bed wasn't exactly the comfiest but she hadn't gotten her usual amount of sleep the night before and the day had been exhausting despite never leaving the room. She laid with an arm draped lazily over Akira, acting as something of a big spoon.

Morgana was also on Akira's mind. The cat hadn't shown himself at all that day, for better or for worse. Morgana was certainly more than capable of taking care of himself but Akira still found himself a little worried.

He watched the entrance of his room as Sadayo began to play with his hair, running her hand through it and twirling it around her index finger. Her touch was soft and gentle, almost putting Akira to sleep. But he continued to keep watch of the stairs incase Sojiro decided to come up. There wasn't really anything Akira could do if he did, and he certainly had no plan or idea on how to approach the situation if he came up, but he kept watch all the same.

"Hey…" Kawakami said barely above a whisper. Akira would of never heard her had her lips not been right next to his ear. His gaze shifted to to see a small smile on her face. "I know today wasn't ideal and kind of scary but… I liked it a lot." Under there circumstances, Akira and Sadayo didn't have much time to spend together. Spending almost an entire day together was a treat for Sadayo. It was something she always wanted to do but always seemed out of the question. She worried that it would be even harder to spend time apart.

"Yeah, we should do this more often," Akira said, Kawakami's heart skipped a beat. "Well… I mean… not spend all day hiding in my room but-you know-spending a day together."

Sadayo tried to hide the glee she felt from hearing him say that but the excitement in her eyes betrayed her. "Maybe we could take the train some weekend and spend a day or two away from Tokyo."

Akira nodded in agreement. "That'd be fun," he told her. "Maybe after we steal Futaba's heart, you and I can go on a trip." Before it would of seemed weird to have to deal with sleeping arrangements but after today, the idea of sharing a room with Sadayo just seemed natural. He would just have to come up with some reason to let Sojiro approve of him going on a trip. Granted if Kawakami talked to him about it, Sojiro wouldn't have much reason to turn him down.

"Akira?" came a voice from downstairs.

Speak of the devil.

Akira and Sadayo froze at the sound of Sojiro's voice at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, you up there?"

Akira didn't speak, partly due to not wanting to encourage Sojiro to come up but mostly due to panic and fear.

Of course, Sojiro knew Akira was up there with someone. Curiosity told Sojiro to check on Akira but he didn't really want to deal with whatever trouble might come of him seeing what what he could only imagine was a girl Akira was being intimate with. When no response came he concluded that Akira was going to play the quiet game in hopes of pretending to not be there. Sojiro found he could respect that as a man quite fond of ladies himself.

Akira had been bringing his friends to the cafe quite frequently, two of which were both young and attractive girls around his age. Sojiro's guess was he was up there with one of them.

The old man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had no reason to bother them, and it wasn't as though Akira was acting out of line by having a girl over. "I'm locking up," he called out as he walked away. If Akira needed to leave he also had a pair of keys. "There's some leftover curry in the fridge. It'll definitely feed two."

Akira and Sadayo glanced at each other. They both could conclude Sojiro definitely knew Akira was up there with someone. But upon hearing his footsteps get fainter and the door into the cafe close, they both let out a sigh of relief, neither had realized they had both been holding their breath.

"Oh my god," Kawakami gasped as she scrambled out of the bed and booked it to the staircase. "I have to pee so bad."

 **\- 5:00 PM -**

Akira found himself downstairs, his head resting on the counter and eyes void of any emotion as he gazed off into the distance. He was still recovering from the sudden shock and fear that had overwhelmed him when Sojiro called out to him.

"He knows," repeated in Akira's head over and over.

Kawakami was a little more composed as she was heating up the curry Sojiro had mentioned earlier. The man's words troubled her as well but based how the events had occurred, it didn't seem he wasn't going to give them any trouble for it. She couldn't help but notice Akira fretting over it though. It was understandable considering he was living under the man's roof.

The clatter of a plate being set on the counter snapped Akira back to reality. It was weird to see Sadayo behind the counter without her maid outfit but it the pajamas seemed just as fitting. But, after spending an entire day hungry, Akira had lost his appetite.

Sitting down next to him, Sadayo found she still had her appetite, but felt a hint of guilt as she watched Akira worrying out of the corner of her eye.

"Akira, I don't think he knows it's us," she said. "I think he just knows you've been up here with someone."

"Oh that's why you're so relaxed," Akira grumbled. "Because you aren't a suspect."

"No I am worried, it's just that-" she stopped herself as she realized she was talking with food in her mouth. She was so hungry she hadn't even noticed she had started eating instinctively. "Sojiro never bothered us despite knowing and even took the time to save us food after he left. Whatever he thinks you were up there doing, I think he's okay with it."

Though Akira turned his head away, he knew she was right. Now he was just embarrassed. He thought they were being so sneaky but Sojiro knew he was up there the whole time. Letting out an exhausted sigh, he finally began eating his curry. Kawakami watched quietly.

The young woman jumped with surprise as Akira leaned against her. Usually the roles were reversed. "Thanks for everything again," Akira murmured. A tired yawn escaped his mouth. He couldn't believe that he was so tired so early in the evening but he had been having a long 24 hours. "You're the best."

"After all this I better be," Sadayo said as she ruffled Akira's hair. They finished eating their food. As Sadayo took the plates to wash them, Akira tried to argue that he would clean them but he was very quickly shot down. "You should go back to bed and rest," Sadayo suggested as she was cleaning the dishes.

Despite having spent the entire day with Kawakami, he still didn't want her to leave. Having gotten a taste of sharing a bed with someone he cared about made him want it more. As he watched Sadayo finish her cleaning he knew he couldn't ask her to stay. She had put up with enough for one day and she looked exhausted. She ran her hand through her hair and complained how badly she needed to shower.

Sadayo dried her hands off and turned to Akira, they both just look at each other in silence for several moments. "I hate to say it, but I really need to go home," Sadayo finally sighed, her gaze shifted to the ground.

"I know," Akira said, propping his elbow on the counter and resting his chin in his hand. "All good things must come to an end."

Sadayo smiled. It had been a good day that she would look back fondly on for a long time. "I still want that text tonight that your safe."

Akira snorted in amusement. "Alright."

"And text me in the morning when your awake and let me know how you're feeling."

"Okay,"

"And I want bi-hourly updates on your condition. Actually, maybe we should make that hourly updates… no no bi-hourly is fine I suppose."

"I'll do my best," Akira said as he stood up from his seat.

"And if your bandages get loose, let me know and I'll come over right away."

"Of course," he walked around the counter towards her.

"And if you start feeling strange give me a-" Sadayo was cut off as Akira gently cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up so he could kiss her. She melted into his embrace as he pulled her closer.

They parted and he gave Sadayo a soft smile. "I'll let you know if anything goes wrong," Akira spoke gently.

Sadayo's lips curled into a smile. "You better," she whispered.

With that Sadayo gathered her things and took her leave. As she opened the door to leave the cafe she seemed surprised by something and looked back. "Akira, your cat is out here," she told him. As she spoke, Morgana took the opportunity to slip through the open door.

"Oh so that's where he was," Akira responded as he watched Morgana come in. Sadayo blew him a kiss and winked as Akira pretended to catch it. With that, the cafe door closed and Sadayo disappeared from sight.

"Barf," Morgana muttered. "You two couldn't be sappier if you were a pair of oak trees."

"Where have you been all day?" Akira asked, choosing to ignore Morgana's comment. As the cat hopped up on the counter, Akira got a good whiff of him. "You reek of the clinic."

Morgana stopped for a minute to think. "I… I did go to the clinic. There was a lot of petting and stroking going on… and then… I don't remember," Morgana said. "I blacked out for some reason and when I came to I was outside the cafe."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck, wondering what on earth Takemi could of done to Morgana. "I was a little worried but I appreciate you giving us some space."

"Eh," Morgana grunted nonchalantly as he licked himself. "It's because I'm such a great pal. I should be rewarded with sushi."

"You're just like Sadayo…" Akira muttered. Rolling his eyes, Akira smirked at the cat before turning away and heading back upstairs. Sleepiness was hitting him hard. Morgana followed him up the stairs and watched him flop into his bed, which felt much more spacious than it did the night before.

The thought reminded him to pull out his phone, opening up his messages to Kawakami. "Had a great day, going to bed, thanks for everything," he typed out and sent. No sooner had he put his phone down did it buzz from a notification.

"Get some rest, sleep well. I love you."

Akira smiled. He could get used to texting her every night.

"I love you too."

With that, he put his phone away, and fell asleep.

* * *

 _Next Time: 24 Hours 2 - Electric Boogaloo_


	2. Chapter 2

**24 Hours 2: Electric Boogaloo**

* * *

 _Takes place between finishing the 4th palace and the start of the 5th._

* * *

 **\- 5:01 PM -**

"You're late."

Akira did a double take, his brow furrowing in confusion. He along with his girlfriend and teacher, Sadayo Kawakami, stood in front a sushi restaurant in Ginza. He had just arrived and those were the first words to come form her mouth upon seeing him.

"W-what?" He double checked his phone. "What do you mean? I'm right on time."

"You said 5:00 PM," Sadayo tapped her wrist with her index finger. "And it's 5:01."

Akira's expression fell flat as his eyes glazed over with disbelief. The look he gave Sadayo made her break character as she tried to stifle a laugh. A deep sigh escaped Akira's lungs as he put his hand on his chest. "You can't just scare me like that, you're gonna age me," he told her.

Stepping closer, Sadayo brushed some loose strands of hair from Akira's face. As funny as she found it was to mess with him, he had clearly been in a rush to make it to her on time. She found she felt a little bad. "If I mess with you enough, you'll catch up to me in age eventually."

"Ha ha, very funny," Akira said, straightening his glasses after the run he had just had.

The two stood in front of a humble little sushi restaurant. Just a little under a week before, Akira had lost something of a bet with Kawakami, where the loser had to take the winner to dinner. Thankfully, Sadayo was merciful on Akira's wallet and didn't pick anywhere too extravagant or expensive.

Akira was surprised though. He had checked the reviews of the little restaurant and it was nothing remarkable. It seemed like the average, run of the mill sushi place, and there were plenty of others that were much closer to his or Sadayo's place. "So why this restaurant?" He asked her curiously.

"Hm?" Sadayo hummed as she hooked her arm around his and drew him into the restaurant. "This place is a bit sentimental to me, and I haven't been here in years."

The restaurant smelled of fish, as to be expected, it was dimly lit and the space itself was pretty tight. A bar ran along the left side of the room with several tables and booths against the opposite wall. There was an older man behind the counter that greeted them. The place was pretty empty so he told them to sit wherever they liked.

Slipping into one of the booths, the two lovers sat opposite of each other. "This place has a very homey feeling to it," Akira commented as he looked around. There were several aging paintings hanging from the wall and there was a very soft, gentle music playing in the background.

"My father used to take me here when I was a little girl," Sadayo explained. "We used to live a couple miles from it and he would bring me here if I got good grades in school."

The older man had come out from behind the counter and gave them some menus. It was a double sided sheet with sushi on one side and hard drinks on the other. "Uh, would it be weird if I had something to drink?" Sadayo asked as she flipped over the menu. "Obviously I won't make you pay for that." Akira was too young to pay for alcohol anyways.

Akira gave her a smile and a nod. "I don't mind," he assured her. Despite being in such a familiar place, Akira could tell Sadayo was feeling a bit tense. This was one of the first times they had gone out together in public. Usually they would just spend time together in the privacy of Akira's room. Perhaps a little alcohol was just what Kawakami needed to ease her nerves a little.

 **\- 5:30 PM -**

Their food was set before them and they they began to eat. Kawakami was about halfway through a glass of wine. She seemed to be drinking very cautiously and conservatively, but Akira noticed she was finally starting to relax a little.

"So why don't you come here anymore?" Akira asked as they ate, he hoped that he wasn't bringing up any touchy subjects.

Sadayo shrugged. "My parents moved out of the city, and I stayed here," she said. "This place is a bit out of the way from where I live and..." her voice trailed off. She shook her head a little. "I always came here with my father, it wouldn't have felt right to come here all by myself."

A gentle smile grew on Akira's face. "It's a nice little place," he told her. "I'd be happy to come back again."

Sadayo's face lit up a little. "Do you really like it?" She asked. "Or are you just saying that?"

"I like it, it is a little out of the way for both of us, but it's no big deal," he assured her. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but it certainly wasn't bad and it seemed to really please Sadayo.

Sadayo finished her drink, which was followed by a small hiccup. She called to the waiter and asked for another, with a hint of blush on her face. "It doesn't take you much to get you buzzed," Akira commented before taking a bite of his food. "I would have never taken you to be such a lightweight."

Sadayo huffed and crossed her arms. "I can't help it," she pouted. "I also haven't drank in a while." Akira could imagine why, with all the work she had been forced to do as a maid and the money she had to give, she had very little time to drink.

Akira's thoughts were interrupted by a soft thunk. Sadayo was resting her head in the table with a glum look on her face. "I'm drinking in front of my student... god I'm such a horrible teacher," she moaned. Drinking seemed to make her a little emotional.

Akira patted her head. "It's okay, I would argue our relationship isn't as simple as a student and a teacher," he said. "I am your boyfriend, after all."

There was a light tap as Kawakami patted the space in the booth beside her. "If you're my boyfriend why don't you come over here and act like it," she insisted. She was trying a sound stern but there was clearly a playful nature behind her words. Akira didn't hesitate to slip out of his booth and to move to a position sitting next to her. As Akira slid his food over to the other side of the table, Kawakami sat up again before leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

The waiter returned and refilled her glass, giving them a strange look before turning away and going back to the counter.

"This is the youngest I've felt in a long time," said Sadayo. Akira was surprised such a statement came from a buzzed Kawakami. "The nostalgia... the carefree feeling..." she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. "It almost feels like I'm your age."

"Well except that you've been drinking-"

"Shhhhhhhh," Sadayo put her index finger on Akira's lips. "Let me have my moment."

A snort of amusement came from Akira as he quietly ran his fingers through her hair. It was nice to see Sadayo so relaxed. She was one of the most stressed out people Akira knew, so seeing her in such a way made Akira feel relaxed as well.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," Sadayo said. "That probably sounds really cliche, but that's all I can think about."

Akira kissed the top of her head. "We just gotta make it last," he told her. Though Sadayo hadn't noticed, the moment was being a bit ruined for Akira as the waiter would occasionally glance over at them curiously. The feeling of being watched was still not something Akira was used to having when he was with Sadayo.

Moments went by as they sat there quietly. Suddenly, a low growl came from Sadayo's stomach. She sat back up and glanced at her food. "I uh... I should really eat."

 **\- 6:15 PM -**

A slight vibration came from Akira's pocket. He instinctively reached into his pocket to check it, but hesitated as he remembered what he was doing. His actions did not go unnoticed by Sadayo though, who's buzz had already begun to wear off. "It's alright," she assured him. "I don't mind if you check your phone."

Akira nodded. "I'll make it quick," he assured her. They had finished eating and were now just spending quiet time in the empty restaurant. Digging into his pocket, Akira pulled out his phone and opened up his messages. "Ohya?" he murmured with surprise. The reporter he had befriended in Shinjuku had sent him a text asking if he had any new, juicy info about the Phantom Thieves.

"Got any new info? I'm at Bar Crossroads in the Red Light District if you wanna chat 3," was her text. The heart at the end gave off the impression she was likely just sweet talking him because she was desperate for some new material, and really needed something new from him.

The boy sighed and closed his eyes. He heard an audible gasp from Sadayo as he knew she saw the text.

"Akira, darling…" Her voice was oozing with a threatening demeanor.

Sticking his phone back into his pocket, he looked over at Sadayo. He knew he needed to keep a cool head, coming across as nervous or flustered would only make the situation look worse. "Yes, love?" he answered with sickening sweetness.

"Seems like you're awfully chummy with what looks to be another older woman… in the red. light. district." She said the last three words through her teeth. "She sent you a cute little heart and everything."

"Yeah, I know, it looks bad," Akira sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "It's nothing like it looks though. I just give her Phantom Thief information because she's helped boost our popularity."

"Mmmhmm, is that all?" She didn't seem to be buying it.

Akira sighed, thinking about his times spent with Ohya. "It's a long story," he groaned. Sadayo drummed her fingers on the table.

"Well then…" Sadayo said as she picked up her purse, her every action screamed attitude. "Why don't we go meet her and see what she wants?"

 **\- 7:00 PM -**

Akira had never been on a more awkward train ride. Sadayo hadn't said a word to him since they had left the restaurant. She had thanked the waiter for the service and had kept her mouth shut since. He fidgeted in his seat, trying to find the words to break the awful silence.

Sadayo sat next to him, hugging her purse tightly and staring at the floor. She looked just as uncomfortable as he did. Her heart was pounding as her nerves built and her body grew tense.

The two kept trying to look at the other without drawing attention. Kawakami heard Akira take a deep breath and begin to speak, causing her to glance his way, but he stop and looked away. She wanted him to say something. She wanted to hear him deny it and reassure her but he didn't say a word. Now they sped towards what could only be an awkward confrontation. If there really was nothing going on between Akira and this woman, Sadayo would feel like an idiot, but if there was, the heart break would be more than she could bare.

"I'm afraid…" She murmured, hugging her purse tighter to her chest.

Akira almost let out a sigh of relief as she spoke to him. The oppressing tension between the two had really been stressing him out. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he tried to assure her. He wondered if contact would comfort or annoy her. His hand instinctively moved to rest on her shoulder but he second guessed himself and retreated. "It'll all make sense when we get there."

"I don't want to find out that you're just some weird student with a fetish for older women and I'm just one of the many cougars you've wooed," when she verbalized her worries like that it made the whole thing sound silly.

"You're not old enough to be a cougar," Akira snorted.

Sadayo finally looked at him, a sad smile on her face. It quickly went away as her gaze turned back to the ground.

"I understand, you know…" Akira said, he didn't want to let the conversation die off and have to sit awkwardly again. "I get it. That text was… misleading, to say the least. You have every right to be suspicious."

Kawakami didn't look at him but she could feel her heartbeat beginning to calm down. He was calm and collected for the most part despite the situation he was in. So either the whole thing was a misunderstanding or he had some sort of scheme sorted out. Sadayo had been subtly watching to see if Akira pulled out his phone, but the device hadn't left his pocket since he had first read the text. If he had some weird diabolical scheme planned he certainly wasn't setting it into motion via communication on his cell phone.

Shaking her head, as if the shake the thoughts from her mind, Sadayo clenched her eyes shut. She knew she was constantly jumping to the worst case scenario conclusions and that she needed to stop. "Just… tell me everything," she finally said. "Before we get there."

Akira had to think back to when he had first met Ohya. "Well… I had met Ohya a few times before, but I really got to know her when I needed to find the name of the mafia boss blackmailing students in Shibuya," he said. He explained how Ohya used to be a journalist but had become a paparazza.

"Her stories have really boosted the Phantom Thieve's popularity," Akira explained.

"So she… so she knows your a Phantom Thief?" Sadayo asked. She felt ridiculous, as if she was jealous that his secrets could be shared with someone other than her.

Akira shook her head. "She doesn't know," he said. Sadayo let out a silent sigh of relief. He went on about Ohya's partner and friend and how she had gone missing. He explained that she was stilling digging up information to hopefully find out where her friend had disappeared and discover what was going one. This had created tension at work between her and her boss, who didn't want her to stick her nose in places he felt that it didn't belong.

"And then he found out about it and confronted her about it at the bar while I was there," Akira continued. "And uh… and we…"

He sighed and massaged his scalp. There was a detail about Ohya he had completely forgotten about until that point. "This is going to sound bad, but you have to believe me…"

Sadayo's eyes narrowed. "Go on…"

"So… she didn't want him to know that she was looking into the story of her missing friend behind his back and…" Akira visibly cringed as he spoke. "She told him that she and I were in a relationship."

There was a cracking noise. Akira glanced at Kawakami to see she was very forcibly squeezing her purse against her chest. It was wrapped so tightly in her arms that something in it broke. "I know! I know!" Akira said quickly, putting his hands up. "I should have told you about it, but that happened before we got into a relationship and I had completely forgotten!"

"Do you still pretend?" Sadayo asked through her teeth.

"O-only when her boss was around! It was only once!" Akira insisted.

"How far does pretending go?" She asked.

"We just told him we were going on a date and that was it! Then he left!" Akira told her. "No feelings involved, no physical contact, and it was before we got together." He let out a tired sigh. "Please believe me…" he begged.

His voice sounded weak now. The whole things was stressful and exhausting and amidst all her mixed up emotions, Sadayo couldn't help but feel bad for Akira. She wanted so badly to believe every last word that left his lips.

The train stopped. They had reached Shinjuku. Akira stood up and held out his hand to help Kawakami up. "Well… moment of truth," he told her.

…

She took his hand.

 **\- 7:30 PM -**

Sadayo's hand trembled in Akira's grasp. They stood before the bar Crossroads, the door only a couple feet away. "I used to come here when I was a little younger…" Sadayo said nervously.

She felt conflicted. She wanted to believe Akira was being completely truthful to her, and for the most part she did. But the thought of the possibility that they might walk in there and some other woman would throw herself on Akira made Sadayo sick to her stomach.

As Akira pulled her to the door, she let go of his hand. He looked back at her as he grasped the knob. "Come on, it'll be fine."

Sadayo sighed, she needed to know the truth either way. She followed Akira into the bar. It was dimly lit and smelled exactly the same way she remembered it.

"Akiiiiiiiraaaa…"

The feminine voice got her attention. A woman around Sadayo's age was sitting at the bar with her face resting on the counter. There was a drunk blush on the woman's face as she gave Akira a goofy grin.

Strolling up to the drunken woman, Akira let out a soft sigh. "Hello, Ohya," he greeted her, taking a seat at the counter beside her.

Ohya sat up straight suddenly as she watched Sadayo quietly sit down as well. There was a brief moment of silence before a devilish smirk appeared on Ohya's face. "Akira, you sly dog," she gave him a nudge. "You brought cute little lady friend this time."

"Ohya, are you harassing that poor kid again?" A deep voice called out. A larger woman with heavy makeup stepped out into view.

"Lala-chan, get this pretty young lady a little booze, on me," Ohya said. "She's old enough to drink, isn't she, Akira?" She winked and nudged the boy several times, much to his annoyance.

Kawakami could already see just by watching the two interact for a few brief moments that there were no romantic feelings between them. A tinge of guilt struck her heart as she realized she had jumped to conclusions.

"Sadayo?"

Hearing her name snapped Kawakami back to reality, she was surprised to hear Lala call her name as the bartender slid a small shot glass her way. "Oh, hello, Lala-chan," she replied, eyeing the drink for a moment but deciding against it.

"It's been so long," Lala said. "What brings you back here?" She eyed Akira, who simply nodded before Lala looked back at Sadayo, who was now blushing. "No…" Lala gasped.

"Yes!" Ohya exclaimed before taking a swig of drink. "Akira is totally into older women."

"Hey! I'm around your age- uh- probably…" Sadayo shot back.

Akira smiled as he saw Sadayo begin to loosen up, though from the look on her face, he could tell there was likely something she still was going to want to talk about. At the very least, she seemed to understand the situation. He was surprised to find that Lala was chummy with her though, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a story behind that.

Suddenly, the door swiftly opened, causing the four to look in it's direction. Akira's heart skipped a beat as he realized Ohya's boss whom he had mentioned earlier, was standing in the doorway.

"Bringing your underaged boyfriend to a bar to drink, huh Ohya?" the man growled. He had short brown hair and wore thin glasses. Though he dressed simply with a shortsleeved, button down shirt and slacks, he still carried himself as though he were large and in charge.

Ohya scoffed. "Ugh, what brings you here, Chief?" she asked, trying to cover her drunkenness up a little but doing a very poor job of it.

"I'm just coming here to make sure you aren't digging into things you aren't supposed to," he said as he walked up to her. "I've been hearing around that you've had your sights set on something other than the Phantom Thieves."

Ohya stood up from her set, wrapping her arm around Akira's neck and pulling him close to her chest. As Sadayo watched she felt like her heart had stopped beating. "The only thing I have my sights *hic* set on is my handsome, young man," Ohya insisted. "But last I checked, he isn't any of your damn business so why don't you bug off?"

"You're sick, you know that?" the chief exclaimed. "You're lucky I'm not in the mood to find someone to replace you. Because finding you like this is certainly enough of a reason to have you fired." With that last comment he turned to leave. He stopped for a moment though as he looked at a pale Kawakami, who's gaze had never left Ohya and Akira. He shook his head and made his exit, as the door clicked shut, Ohya, Akira, and Lala let out a sigh of relief.

But Akira felt like he had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire as he could feel Kawakami's gaze just a couple of feet away. He quickly freed himself from Ohya's hold and brushed himself off, laughing nervously as he turned to Sadayo.

About to speak up and defend himself, Akira found Lala beat him to the punch. "Oh darling you have nothing to worry about," Lala told Sadayo, who's wide eyes still hadn't turned away from Akira. "Their whole relationship is just a shame to keep Ohya out of trouble."

Sadayo finally broke her gaze from Akira and turned to Lala. Akira gave the woman a grateful look.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Sadayo flopped down into the counter in a similar position to how they had found Ohya when they first arrived, a soft groan escaped her lungs. This was not at all how she had expected her night to go.

She stiffened a little but quickly relaxed as she felt Akira's hand on her back, giving it a gentle rub. He laid his head down on the counter to bed at eye level with her. "I'm really sorry about all this," he told her.

A long groan escaped Kawakami's lungs. "You know what I do when I'm feeling down?" Ohya said, nudging the shot Lala had given to Sadayo closer to the distressed woman.

As Sadayo pushed the drink away, Akira looked at her curiously. "It would help you relax a little," he said, nudging it back towards her. "I don't mind at all."

Sadayo looked at him for a moment before sitting up and slowly picking up the shot glass. "Well… I guess one wouldn't hurt."

 **\- 9:00 PM -**

 _"AKIIIIIRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

Sadayo was slammed.

The drunk women rubbed her face aggressively into Akira's chest as the two sat in a booth in Crossroads. She had just begun to drunkenly cry. "I-I'm so sorry!" she sobbed as she clutched his shirt and shook him with each syllable she spoke. "I'll never doubt you again!"

Akira looked around for help. Ohya was asleep at the bar, he made eye contact with Lala, who shook her head and slipped away into the backroom behind the bar.

"Please d-don't break up with me!"

"Nobody said anything about me breaking up with you," he assured her. He felt awkward having a grown woman sobbing into his chest. If he had known Sadayo would get so emotional when she was drunk maybe he would have tried to have stopped her sooner.

Sadayo's meltdown was interrupted by several hiccups. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes a bit before nestling into Akira's lap more. She had her arms wrapped around him tightly as if she were afraid to let him go. Akira couldn't help but feel bad, she so visibly felt terrible for accusing him when she had every right to be suspicious. Akira considered himself lucky that the situation got cleared up so cleanly. He'd have to leave an extra tip for Lala.

They sat there quietly for a few moments as Kawakami tried to fight off a fit of hiccups. "Are you mad?" she asked softly, a hint of a slur in her voice.

"No," Akira told her, running his hand through her hair. "I should have told you about all of this earlier."

Sadayo didn't say anything but she seemed content with his words. Her body relaxed more as she melted into his lap. "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too," Akira replied as he continued to run a hand through her hair. He saw her beginning to doze off. "Hey, hey," he said quickly, patting her on the cheeks. "No sleeping here."

"Awww but I'm so tiiiired…" she whined. Akira checked his watch, it wasn't even that late into the night. He could have guessed Sadayo was a bit of a lightweight but he never would have guessed it was this bad.

"I'll take you home," he said as he began shifting around to get out of the booth while also trying to move Sadayo without hurting her or bumping her head on anything.

"Nooooooo!" She exclaimed, holding him even tighter. "I don't want you to go!"

"Come on, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep," he grunted as he lifted her up. She staggered a bit and leaned against him to stop from falling over. There was no way she was going to be able to stumble to the tran station without falling over a couple of times. He sighed sat her down in a seat before turning his back to her and gesturing for her to wrap her arms around his neck.

"I-I can walk myself!" She insisted. The abrupt hiccup after her jumbled words said otherwise.

"Come on, you can do it," Akira said, gently taking both her hands and guiding them around his neck. He reached down and planted his hands under her thighs and hoisted her onto his back. Sadayo squeaked with surprise and wrapped her arms around his tightly, though not tight enough to choke Akira.

Planting his feet and getting his balance, he took in a deep breath before walking over to the bar, leaving some money on the counter before saying goodbye to Ohya, who had passed out and didn't respond. With that he headed out of the bar.

 **\- 10:00 PM -**

Akira found himself twisting and maneuvering awkwardly as he attempted to get Sadayo's keys from her purse. He stood in front of her door at her apartment complex and was still carrying her on her back, though she had since fallen asleep and had buried her face into his neck.

His fingertips brushed against the cold metal that indistinguishably felt like keys and pulled them from her purse, though his moment of victory was short-lived as he didn't know which key was for her door and none of them were labelled.

After several moments and fumbling around with the keys and the door finally unlocking, Akira hastily entered her apartment. He was running low on energy and his back was starting to hurt after having carried Sadayo for so long.

Stumbling around in the dark, Akira bumped a switch on the wall to turn on the lights. The sudden brightness blinded him for a moment as his eyes needed to adjust, though seemed to have no effect of Sadayo. With the lights on, he was able to find her bedroom. He stood by her bed as his mind scrambled to think of a way to gently lay her down without her waking up.

"Mmm…" Sadayo groaned as she began to move around. "Akira…" she groaned sleepily as she nuzzled him. "You smell nice…"

The comment caught him off guard for a moment but he found if amusing none the less. Sadayo sleepily lifted her head to take a look around, blinking a few times to clear her vision as she let out a yawn. "Oh… how did I get home?" the slur in her voice told Akira that she had yet to recover fully from her earlier drinking.

Seeing that it was too late to worry about waking her up, Akira turned his back towards Sadayo's bed and crouched down to set her down on it gently. Sadayo was hesitant to let go of him but inevitably she did, Akira turned around to watch her fall from a sitting position onto the bed to lay on her side.

Akira picked her up a little and shifted her so that she was laying properly in her bed with her head on her pillow. He draped her blanket over her and gave her a kiss on the head before turning to leave. As he was about to walk out there was a tug on his shirt as Sadayo had grabbed it, her arm sticking out from under the blanket.

"Don't go…" she murmured tiredly, her grasp of his shirt tightening.

Akira took her hand in his for her to let go of his shirt. "I shouldn't stay the night here," he told her.

Sadayo pouted. "Why not? I've stayed the night at your place," she whined. Her grasp on his hand tightened. "You said-" she hiccuped, "-You said you'd stay until I fell asleep…"

A soft sigh escaped Akira's lips as they curved into a gentle smile. Sadayo was already pretty out of it so she would likely fall asleep fairly quickly. "Sure, why not," he told her.

 **\- 9:00 AM -**

Akira awoke with a start at the sound in his ringing phone. "What on earth?" he grumbled as he flailed an arm about lazily in hopes of finding his phone without having to remove his buried face from out of his pillow.

Something was off though, his pillow smelt way nicer than usual and was much softer. He froze the moment he felt his arm hit a warm body. Everything suddenly clicked and Akira remembered where he was, causing him to pick himself up with a start.

This definitely was not his attic. He looked beside him to see Sadayo sprawled out on the other half of the bed. Her bed was much larger than his so there was plenty of room for her to spread out. Akira's heart skipped a beat for a moment has he checked himself and patted his body to find he still had all his clothes on, a sigh of relief left his lungs. "I must have accidentally fallen asleep," he muttered.

The constant buzzing of his phone was still going off, causing him to reach down and check it to make it stop.

"You didn't come home last night, is everything all right?" It was Sojiro.

"Yeah, accidentally fell asleep at a friend's house," Akira texted back, hoping his answer would satisfy Sojiro.

The bed wiggled a little as a groan could be heard from behind Akira. He turned around to see Sadayo to wake up. "What… what happened last night?" she groaned painfully, covering her face with her pillow. "Oh dear god… my head… is pounding…"

Akira began to speak, causing Sadayo to screech with a sudden start as she scrambled off the opposite side of bed to Akira and fell to the floor with a thud. Her foot stuck out in the air and her toes twitched as she groaned again.

"Sorry! Sorry," Akira said, crawling across the bed and peering down at Sadayo. "I didn't mean to startle you."

A visibly confused expression riddled Sadayo's face. The two people stared at each other silently for several moments. Akira reached out his hand to pull Sadayo up. She took it gratefully and climbed back into her bed, where the two sat upright facing each other. "What are you doing here?" Sadayo asked as she rubbed her scalp. "What happened last night?"

"You got drunk and I brought you home," Akira was quick to explain. "You wanted me to stay until you fell asleep but I accidentally fell asleep myself."

By the strained expression on her face, Akira could tell Sadayo was trying her hardest to remember that. She seemed to have no recollection of it though. "How drunk was I?" she asked, rubbing her face with her hands.

"I had to carry you home," Akira said.

Sadayo's eyes widened. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she said, putting her hand on his thigh and covering her mouth with the other hand. "Did I… Did I do anything weird?" she asked.

Akira shook his head. "Not very much… you got a bit emotional but that's really it."

Sadayo's brow furrowed as she thought about why she'd be emotional. Her fuzzy memories slowly began to clear as she remembered why she was at Crossroads to begin with. "Oh Akira…" she murmured softly as she hid her face in her hands. "I-I'm so awful."

Akira scooted a bit closer to her. "No no don't say that," he said.

"We were suppose to just go on a cute date but I accused you of cheating on me and then I got shit-faced to escape the embarrassed guilt I felt which just caused you more trouble," she said. Her head began to hurt more.

"Hey, no, it's fine," Akira said in a hushed voice, pulling her closer. "It was my fault, it was a suspicious situation. Anybody would have thought the same thing."

Sadayo melted into his embrace and buried her face in his chest. "Even if what I did was okay… you still had to carry me all the way home."

"It's fine, it's really fine," Akira tried to tell her. "It was kind of interesting to see that side of you."

"I'm never drinking again."

"What? That's ridiculous you can still drink."

Sadayo took a deep breath. "I would… I would argue with you but my head feels like it's about to split in two," she complained. "I need to do something about this hangover."

 **\- 10:00 AM -**

The sound of clattering came from Sadayo's kitchen. The woman sat at the counter polishing off a glass of water, this had been her third refill. Akira was at the stove frying some eggs.

"I think I um… I think I owe you a dinner date now," Sadayo said as she watched Akira work.

"Hm? Why's that," he asked as he separated the eggs into two portions and put them on plates.

Sadayo reached for the sink and refilled her glass again. "I uh… I caused your lot of trouble in the last day or so… and now you're making me breakfast."

Akira snorted with amusement and slid a plate in Sadayo's direction. "We'll call it even for patching me up last week," Akira said, Sadayo had taken care of him when he had returned from a palace with some serious injuries.

Sadayo looked unamused as she took a bite of her food, her now deadpan eyes never breaking eye contact with Akira.

"Okay, alright, we can do something," Akira agreed, putting his hands up. Sadayo's glare turned into a mockingly innocent smile as she finally looked away from him.

There was a moment of silence before Akira spoke up again. "So… um… after the whole misunderstanding last night… I have something else I need to tell you about," he began.

Sadayo twitched. Akira saw her knuckles go white for a moment but she quickly collected herself. "What's that?" she asked, now refusing to make eye contact with him.

"I um… I'm pretending to be Makoto's boyfriend as well."

"WHAT!?" Sadayo's fork went into the air and hit the floor with a clatter. "Why on-!? What are you and-?" She cut herself short and coughed to clear her throat. "E-explain."

Akira was quick to explain that the relationship was a front in order to attempt to save Makoto's friend from a potentially shady boyfriend.

"Y-You two have gone on dates?" She interrupted Akira as he mentioned a the double date they had gone on with Makoto's friend.

"W-well… yeah… I know that sounds bad but it we were on a mission," he promised. "I'm telling you this now so that we don't have another misunderstanding."

Sadayo rubbed her face with her hands, anxiety building up inside her was causing her head to pound again. She found that Makoto was a harder pill to swallow than Ohya. Upon first glance she could tell everything between Ohya and Akira was platonic, but Makoto was his age, and she had everything. She was good looking and smart, not to mention a part of the Phantom Thieves, so she and Akira had to be close.

"I swear there's nothing between us," Akira said, making his way around the counter as he could see Sadayo was panicking. "I was just trying to help her out."

Sadayo wanted to get angry but she knew that wasn't right, Akira was just trying to be honest with her. "What if something starts to develop?" she asked, fidgeting with her glass of water.

"That won't happen," Akira said, embracing Sadayo from behind and wrapping his arms around her neck. "She's too busy with other things to even think about a relationship."

"Oh so you would date her if she wasn't?"

"I didn't say that," Akira said, shaking his head. "Makoto doesn't have the hot teacher aesthetic going for her."

"Okay but like theoretically, if she did have the hot teacher aesthetic, would you break up with me?"

Akira laughed. "No," he promised. "Makoto is just a friend."

"Easy for you to say," Sadayo groaned, leaning back into Akira. "But… thanks for telling me about it…"

"Do you want me to call it off?" Akira asked. "I would understand."

"No, no," Sadayo sighed, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger. "Just… try to get over with as soon as possible."

Akira kissed her forehead. "You're the best," he told her as he let go of her. He bent down to pick up her fork and grunted audibly as a loud *pop* came from his back.

Sadayo turned around and looked at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Y-yeah," Akira grunted as he stood up straight. He twisted his body causing several more pops to be heard. "Just stiff after last night."

Sadayo smiled. "I think I can help with that."

 **\- 11:00 AM -**

"ACK!" Akira exclaimed as a loud pop came from his back.

"S-sorry, was that too rough?" Sadayo asked. She could feel the boy's back was extremely stiff. He must have carried her for a long time.

The two had returned to Sadayo's bed, where Akira laid flat on his stomach, Sadayo straddled him and had been pressing against different parts of his back. "You healed really quickly," she commented, referring to the injury Akira had obtained a week ago. Akira had removed his shirt so all his cuts and bruises were visible. The previous week she had patched him up after he had gotten a large gash in his side, but now his body showed no sign of it. "Are you super human or something?"

Akira huffed in amusement. "No, Morgana's healing magic took care of it."

…

…

…

"I'm sorry," Sadayo sat up straight, though she was still straddling Akira. "If I didn't know any better, I would of thought I just heard you say that your **cat** healed you with **magic**."

Akira bit his lower lip. He hadn't thought about what he had said and who he was saying it to. Sadayo knew about him being a Phantom Thief but she wasn't aware of many of the details… mostly because Akira didn't think she would believe him if he told her.

"I um… well yeah that's what happens in the meta verse," he said, he didn't really know what to tell her at that point. He didn't want to lie but telling the truth made him sound like a lunatic.

"Uh huh," Sadayo said, leaning down and not so subtly placing her palm on his forehead to check if he had a temperature or something of the sort. "Is that why you talk to him all the time?"

Akira didn't answer and rather just planted his face in a pillow. "You know…" Sadayo began. "This would all seem a little less crazy if you just… took me to the meta-"

"No," Akira was quick to interrupt her. "We already went over this, it's too dangerous."

"We could just hop in and then hop right out… that would work, right?" Sadayo asked, she continued her massage. This wasn't her first time asking Akira to take her to the meta verse but he was always very adamant about turning her down.

"I want you to keep as far away from the meta verse as possible," Akira said, beginning to relax again as he was messaged. "It's weird. The meta verse pulls you in. Nobody ever goes just once."

"Like an addiction?" Sadayo asked.

Akira shook his head. "Like fate or destiny… it becomes a part of who you are." He didn't know how to describe it very well. "It's not a pleasant place to visit. It's a display of the worst humanity has to offer."

"It might not sound pleasant but it sounds interesting," Sadayo said as another pop came from Akira's back causing him to grunt audibly. "You have to understand, how could I not want to see it when you make it sound so intriguing?"

"I'm sorry," Akira let out a sigh. "It's just too risky… I can't stand the thought of actively putting you in danger."

"Hmph, imagine how I feel," Sadayo muttered, she moved and began working on Akira's lower back. "Can you take pictures of it?"

Akira shook his head. "No… Ryuji and I discovered during our first visit that cameras don't work there."

The universe seemed hell bent on Sadayo not getting to see this meta verse Akira kept talking about. Her frustration could be felt as she began to massage more aggressively.

*Pop!*

"O-ow!" Akira whined. The pop sounded much more painful than the others.

Sadayo flinched. "S-sorry!"

 **\- 12:00 PM -**

The two laid in Sadayo's bed quietly, while Akira felt better after the massage, he still found his body ached. Sadayo's hangover was dying down but the after affects still lingered.

…

Akira's phone buzzed, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out to check his text messages. He had another text from Ohya. "Last night was fun, you should definitely bring your girlfriend again!" was the text message he received.

"Ugh," Sadayo grunted, having gotten to glance at the text herself. "After last night… I probably should refrain from drinking for a while."

Akira put his phone back in his pocket and rolled on his side to face her. "Lala-chan knew you last night," he said. "Did you use to go there regularly?"

Sadayo glanced at him for brief moment but quickly averted her gaze. "I mean… in my line of work, as a maid, I had to go to Shinjuku all the time," she said quietly. "Crossroads was just a place to go so that I'd forget whatever happened that night."

"Sorry," Akira was quick to interject. "I should have figured that out myself. I shouldn't have asked."

After a pause, Sadayo rolled on her side as well to face him, she gently took her hand in his. "No, it's okay," she said. "You have a right to know."

"I-" Akira became flustered. To a degree he didn't really want to know the details of Sadayo's time as a maid, but at the same time his burning curiously told him otherwise. "You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable."

"You seem like the uncomfortable one," Sadayo said with a slight smirk.

"What? Me? Uncomfortable? Never." Akira said quickly, Sadayo wasn't buying it though.

"Don't worry," she said assuringly. "There were some creeps at the beginning, but it never went beyond some fondling."

Akira breathed an audible sigh of relief. "That was half the reason I didn't get many jobs as a maid," Sadayo said, rubbing her arm. "I wasn't very comfortable with… you know… And after a while I stopped getting requests from men who wanted to… um…"

"I get it. I get it," Akira assured her quickly, he didn't need the image of Sadayo being intimate with some creepy older man burned in his mind. He got into a upright sitting position and adjusted to sit at the side of the bed before getting up and grabbing his shirt.

Sadayo watched as he put on his shirt, also moving to an upright sitting position in her bed. "I'm sorry did that upset you?" she asked.

Akira's head popped out of the collar of his shirt and he fixed his now messy hair with his hand. "No, just… I would rather not think about that stuff," he said.

"It's something I wish I could forget myself," Sadayo admitted, her gaze turning downward. "But I've come to terms with it. It's just a part of my past I have to live with."

…

"But in a way… I'm sort of grateful for it," she said. "How else would I have gotten to know you so intimately?"

Akira picked up his glasses, which he had left on the nightstand by Sadayo's bed. "That's a very cliche thing to say," Akira commented. "But I suppose that it is true." He couldn't imagine how he and Sadayo would have gotten to where they were today without her secret night job.

Akira knelt down to put his shoes on and as he stood up he looked over at Sadayo. "Are… are you pouting?" he asked.

The young woman was indeed pouting. "Are you leaving?" she asked.

Akira scratched his head. "I mean… I was going too," he said. "I figured with your hangover you'd want some rest and that I'd get out of your hair."

Sadayo's brow furrowed. "My hangover is almost gone," she felt childish for wanting him to stay longer. "It's just that… dinner was great and all, but our little date kind of got cut short by, um, drama."

"Mhmm, drama," Akira said knowingly.

"A-anyways," Sadayo said, clearing her throat and looking away. "We could at least go get lunch or something."

Checking the time on his phone, Akira gave her a nod. Sadayo's logic wasn't making a whole lot of sense to him but he figured it was her excuse for them to spend more time together, which was certainly something he wouldn't argue with. "I could go for lunch," he told her.

Sadayo smiled. "Great, I just need to take a quick shower."

 **\- 2:00 PM -**

It was not a quick shower.

"So… if your cat can heal you with magic, why were you so badly hurt that night?" Sadayo asked. She had just slurped up some noodles from a large bowl.

The two sat in the Beef Bowl Shop in Shibuya. This time they sat across from each other in a tiny booth by the front windows. Akira felt weird eating there considering he also worked there part time, but considering how late it was into the afternoon, he was too hungry to care at this point. The boy had his mouth full of noodles when Sadayo asked her question. Though he tried to speak at first, he quickly realized that was a bad idea and put up an index finger as he chewed and swallowed.

"Well, usually he would, but he had run out of mana so he couldn't use healing magic, and my wounds might have been too serious for his magic to take care of anyways," Akira answered. "But uh… don't tell him I said that."

Sadayo snorted in amusement. "Why, does he understand Japanese?"

…

…

…

"Oh my god," Sadayo leaned forward. "Can you actually communicate with your cat?"

Akira nodded slowly. Sadayo had gone along with his seemingly looney explanations about the meta verse but he could tell that this was really beginning to push it.

"Can he talk to me?" Sadayo asked.

"He uh… he understands what you're saying… and may even respond, but you can't understand stand him unless you go into the metaverse," Akira explained. "And before you ask again: no I'm not taking you there"

"I want to talk to your cat," Sadayo insisted in an almost child like manner.

A huff of amusement came from Akira. "That's not necessarily true, he's sarcastic and snarky," he said. "He and Ryuji fight all the time."

"I can see that," Sadayo said, thinking about Ryuji fighting with a cat. After a moment she realized how ridiculous that was before she snapped back to reality. She shook her head and patted her cheeks before glaring at Akira. "Ha ha, very funny," she said.

Akira looked at her strangely, unsure of what she was getting at. "What?"

"You're just messing with me," Kawakami pointed an accusing finger at him. "You can't actually talk to your cat."

Akira couldn't help but laugh a little. "I tell you about an alternate reality where I fight demons and you draw the line when I tell you I can talk to a cat?"

"I don't know, maybe this whole thing is a crazy farce and you're just messing with me for your own amusement," Sadayo said, throwing her hands up.

"You're the one who said I was a Phantom Thief," Akira reminded her.

Sadayo returned to eating her noodles. "Yeah, and I still believe that you are, but your explanation of how stealing hearts work has always been like something out of a fairytale," she told him. "And the more I hear about it, the more ridiculous it gets."

"Why would I lie about it?" Akira asked with a shrug.

"See, that's what I want to know," Sadayo replied with a sigh. "And like if you were going to lie, why wouldn't you make it a little more believable?"

"Right, it'd be much simpler to say that we blackmail the victims or something," Akira said as an example.

…

"Do you do that?" Sadayo asked.

"God, no," Akira crossed his arms. Sadayo's sudden doubt was a little frustrating but he couldn't really fault her for it.

The two sat quietly for a minute.

"You know what would really convince me?" Sadayo asked, looking at him knowingly.

"Don't say it."

"Maybe we could take-"

"No."

"-a little trip-"

"Absolutely not."

"-Just a short, tiny visit-"

"Sadayo, I'm serious."

Kawakami could tell that Akira wasn't going to change his mind and that her probing was starting to upset him. "Okay… alright," she said. "I'm sorry."

"No… don't be sorry," Akira ran his hand through his hair. "I understand that you want to go and why. I really get it. But it's just something I can't risk, I care about you too much to put you in danger like that."

Sadayo huffed. "Trying to sweeten me up to make me more agreeable, I see," she said, resting his elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.

"Is it working?" Akira asked.

Sadayo smiled. "Mmm, a little bit."

 **\- 3:00 PM -**

The two exited the Beef Bowl Shop, Kawakami stretching as she stepped out into the bright, warm sunlight, causing her to shield her eyes with her hand. She turned to Akira, who strolled out with his hands in his pockets.

"Hows your back feeling?" Sadayo asked him.

Akira grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Much better, thanks to you," he told her.

"You can't really thank me for it when it was my fault to begin with, you know," she told him, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm never drinking around you again."

Akira laughed and waved it off. "It was really fine. It was kind of fun to see that side of you," he said. "You're a very emotional drunk."

Sadayo's cheeks went red. "Oh god… did I cry?" she asked, dreading his answer.

Akira just looked away without saying a word, adjusting his glasses.

"I did cry didn't I." Sadayo buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, that's so embarrassing."

"It was cute," he said. That statement sounded better in his head. Saying she was cute when she was crying sounded weird. "It was a side of you that I've never gotten to see before."

"If the school found out about that, I would be in so much trouble," Sadayo murmured.

"You do a lot of things that would get you in trouble with the school," Akira pointed out, reaching out and pulling her into an embrace. "Something we both seem to have quite in common."

"Maybe that's why we're so drawn to each other," Sadayo muttered, more than happy to snuggle into his embrace.

The two stood in the middle of the walk way in front of Beef Bowl Shop for several moments, knowing the time to part ways was fast approaching. "If you… if you want to stay at my place again some time… you're more than welcome," Sadayo spoke softly.

Akira kissed her forehead. "I'd like that, but I'm not sure how often Sojiro would approve of it," he said.

"He knows you've got a lady friend, I'm sure he'll understand," Kawakami teased.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Akira said as the two finally broke their embrace. He looked at Sadayo to find she was staring at him, waiting for something expectantly. He smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips. Their kiss was soft and tender.

As they broke, Sadayo gave him a cheerful smile. "See, that's how we're suppose to end these dates," she said.

 **\- 4:00 PM -**

The bell above the door jingled in Leblanc as Akira entered the cafe. "Oh, there you are," Sojiro said, cleaning a plate behind the counter. "How was your little sleep over?"

Akira did not want to talk about it with Sojiro, too embarrassed to confront that Sojiro likely knew to some degree who he was out with. "I-it was fine," he said.

Sojiro grinned smugly. "Good to hear you had a good time," he commented.

"Has Futaba woken up yet?" Akira asked, quickly hoping to change the subject. She had been asleep since they had stolen her treasure from her palace, and the Phantom Thieves needed her to wake up in order to help them take down the hacker clan Medjed.

"Haven't heard a peep from her," Sojiro replied, putting his dish away before moving to the next plate. "But that's not uncommon for Futaba."

Akira let out a quiet groan, his thoughts were interrupted by Morgana coming down the stares. "Hey, what on earth happened last night?" Morgana asked as he approached Akira, who walked past him to head up to his room. "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't come home last night," he commented.

"It's a long story," Akira didn't feel like explaining things to Morgana at that moment.

"Should I be expecting any nieces or nephews soon?" Morgana asked slyly.

"Nieces or newph-? first of all nothing like that happened, second of all when did you become my brother?" Akira asked as he flopped down onto his bed. He felt surprisingly tired.

"We might not be brothers, but if you had a kid, I want to be their uncle," Morgana said proudly before beginning to lick his crotch. "I think I would make a great uncle."

…

"Yeah… sure," Akira murmured, he pulled out his phone and opened his messages.

"Got home safe, you?" he texted Sadayo.

Miles away, Sadayo's phone vibrated as she received a text. She had just unlocked the door to her apartment as her phone began to buzz. Stepping through the door, she kicked off her shoes and pulled her phone from her purse. She smiled as she read Akira's text.

"Just got home, thanks." Sadayo replied.

She pressed the home button on her phone before turning the device off. She began to stick her phone in her pocket but did a double take as something unusual caught her eye.

She turned on her phone again and looked at the home screen.

"What on earth?"

There was a new, bright red app.

* * *

 _Next Time: 24 Hours 3: The Reckoning_


	3. Chapter 3

24 Hours 3: The Reckoning

* * *

 _A few days later._

* * *

\- 9:00 PM -

"Igor!"

Akira furiously kicked at the jail cell door in the velvet room.

"Quiet at once, inmate! Do you forget who you're talking to!?" Caroline shouted. She appeared angry as she glared at Akira but her expression was riddled with confusion. She had never seen Akira like this. She swung her baton and ran it across the cell bars, creating quite the racket.

"Now now, Caroline, he's upset about something, I would like to hear him out," Igor said with a brief wave of his hand.

"But-" Caroline began, but decided it was better to listen to Igor and back off. She huffed and turned her back to Akira with her arms crossed.

"Now, what ales you?" Igor asked. "It's unusual to see you so riled up."

Akira knuckles whitened as he grasped the bars of his cell. "You know damn well what the problem is," he shot back. "You know what you've done."

Igor shrugged and intertwined his fingers together, crossing his legs. "My only goal is to assist you in your journey to rehabilitation."

"Say 'rehabilitation' one more time and I'll shove a thesaurus up your ass," Akira angrily let go of the bars before giving them a harsh kick. He could see Caroline was struggling to keep her composer. She was shaking with anger. Akira pointed an accusing finger at Igor. "You brought her into this. After I so actively worked to keep her away, you come in and drag her into danger!"

"Sadayo Kawakami made her own decision. I simply gave her the tools to make that decision," Igor said, his grin never faltering. "She knows the dangers of the meta verse yet she actively chose to enter it on her own free will. There was no 'dragging' as you would seem to think."

Akira kicked the cell bars again. "You didn't give her tools you gave her the god damn key to the gates of hell," he exclaimed. "You knew full well her curiosity would bring her here! That was not your decision to make!"

"And who's was it? Yours?" Igor seemed to be very amused by this back and forth. "That woman is old enough to decide what she wants and she wanted to see the world you tantalized her with."

"She's defenseless!" Akira retorted. "She has no way of facing the dangers of this world!"

"And yet you stand here, wasting your time debating with me," Igor said, his impossibly wide grin only growing with amusement. "She's still out there, you know."

"Where. Is. she." Akira demanded, grasping the cell bars again.

"Think for a moment, you'll figure it out," Igor said.

\- 5:00 PM -

Akira found himself sitting at the bar in Leblanc. It was just after opening hours so the cafe was quiet. The only sound came from the shuffling on the other side of the bar as Sadayo quietly brewed a cup of coffee.

She looked over at Akira to see the boy was staring at her. "Aren't you suppose to be reading?" she asked. His gaze made her feel a little self conscious and she instinctively ran her fingers through her hair.

"Hm? Oh," Akira was clearly lost in thought. Her voice had snapped him back to reality. "I was just entranced by your work," he said, clearing his throat and reluctantly turning his gaze back to his book.

Sadayo blushed at his comment and continued her work. "You're just amused by this stupid maid outfit…" She was in fact, wearing the outfit from her previous job.

"I mean, you make a cute maid, no doubt about it," Akira said as she tried to keep his focus on the book. "I think I prefer your regular look though. I never really understood why you wore the maid outfit after you quit your job."

Sadayo sighed. "It's just a cautionary thing. It'd be suspicious if someone saw me coming here dressed regularly."

"Yeah, coming here dressed as a maid definitely draws a better picture."

"I-" Sadayo stopped, she didn't really know how to respond to that at first. "People won't recognize me."

Akira chuckled and turned the page of his book. "I would think that the maid outfit would draw more attention to you, if anything," he commented. "And it's not really going to hide your identity, it's not like you wear a mask."

Pursing her lips, Sadayo huffed. "Fine, I'll stop coming as a maid," though she was pouting, she felt a wave of relief. Wearing the maid outfit wasn't particularly comfortable or functional and it only drudged up bad memories

Morgana's ears perked up a little, he was laying on the counter, curled up tightly next to where Akira was reading. "I kind of liked the maid outfit," he said.

Akira smacked him on the top of the head with this book, earning a disgruntled meow from Morgana. "Don't abuse the cat, honey," Sadayo said.

"He's saying weird things," Akira said as Morgana began to scamper away. He turned and looked in Morgana's direction "Just stick with Ann."

"With Ann?" Kawakami asked, looking up from the coffee she was making with a curiously raised brow.

Akira turned back to his book. "Yeah, Morgana has a strange cat crush on her," he said nonchalantly.

"Akira!" Morgana exclaimed. "That's suppose to be a secret!"

"It's not a secret."

"What? Yes it is!"

Akira closed his book and looked over to Morgana. "It's not, Ryuji jokes about it all the time when you aren't around."

"WHAT!? I'll show him a thing or two next time I-"

Of course, to Sadayo, it appeared that Morgana was only meowing and purring furiously. She couldn't understand anything he was saying. Morgana appeared upset before hurrying upstairs to Akira's bedroom. "God that was weird," she murmured. The coffee she had been making was just about finished. She pulled out two small cups and a pair of saucers before pouring the coffee.

Akira watched quietly as she prepared the coffee and slid it down the counter towards him. She made her way around the counter and sat down on the stool beside him.

There was a small buzzing sound, causing Akira to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. He glanced in Sadayo's direction, remembering the last time he had checked his phone next to her had not gone over too well. She was taking a sip of her coffee but hissed as she realized how hot it was.

She turned to look in Akira's direction. "What?" she asked. Akira just shook his head and checked his phone. The Phantom Thieves chat was active as Ann and Ryuji bickered back and forth about something.

"What's that about?" Sadayo asked, glancing at the phone curiously. Akira seemed fairly disinterested in the conversation in the chat.

Akira stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "Oh they're just talking about Mementos," he said. He realized that she wouldn't know what he was talking about. "It's a place in the meta verse. It's a palace for everyone's hearts."

"Everyone's?" She asked curiously.

Akira picked up his cup of coffee and blew on it softly before taking a sip. It was smooth and delicious, Sadayo had become quite good at making the stuff. "Yeah, it takes the form of a subway system. That's where we went to change the hearts of the couple that were harassing you for money."

Sadayo was very interested in this, but she knew better than to ask Akira to take her there at this point. "And um… what was it called again?" she asked.

"Mementos," Akira replied simply.

"Mementos…" Sadayo repeated softly.

\- 9:02 PM -

"Dammit!" Akira kicked the bars of his cell in the velvet room. This was all his fault. Sadayo had been acting funny the rest of the night that they spent together. Usually she was reluctant to go but tonight she had practically flown out of the door to go home. If it hadn't been for the quick peck on the cheek that she had given him before leaving, Akira would have thought she was upset with him about something.

"You have…" he muttered softly. "You have to tell me where she is…"

Grin never wavering, Igor put his hand to his ear. "What was that?"

"Tell me where she is!" Akira shook the bars. "Mementos is… Mementos is huge… possibly endless…"

A low grumble came from Igor, as if he were contemplating whether he wanted to tell Akira or not. "I believe she's within the Path of Akzeriyyuth," he said, stroking his chin. "I wonder how she got down that far… perhaps she was taken there by a shadow or-"

His sentence was cut short as he realized Akira had already left. "Oh… that's a bit rude," he murmured.

"Shall I punish him next time he shows his face here?" Caroline asked quickly.

Igor waved it off. "No, no. I believe involving Sadayo Kawakami was punishment enough."

\- 7:00 PM -

Sadayo pulled out her phone and checked her surroundings, as if to check and see if Akira was watching her. She found herself sitting on a bench in the underground subway station. It was late, so the stop was empty at the moment.

She stared at a bright red app that appeared on her phone, and it stared back. It was indisputably the app Akira used to travel to the meta verse. She had seen it on his phone before. She was a bit more than surprised to find that it had appeared on her phone as well.

At first, she thought it would be best if she told Akira about it, but the more that she thought about it, she realized he would likely freak out. He had been insistent from the beginning that she wasn't going to get anywhere close to the meta verse. Any time she brought up the idea he became visibly upset.

She had tried the app several times but it didn't seem to respond to most things that she said, only giving the occasional "no candidates found" response. So she knew she needed some sort of keyword to activate it.

"Mementos… Mementos…" she murmured to word quietly as if she might possibly forget. It echoed in her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had everything she needed, why was she hesitating? She wanted to see this meta verse so badly and now it was at her fingertips.

She knew why. This wasn't how she wanted to go. She wanted Akira to be with her, she didn't want to go in alone. She had seen first hand what could happen to someone in the meta verse . Akira almost bled to death one night because of the danger there.

She bit her bottom lip. What if she couldn't figure out how to leave what if she was trapped there?

Sadayo took another deep breath. If Akira and Ryuji were able to figure it all out, so could she. The thought of Akira made her flinch, she could only hope that he wouldn't be too angry about this.

"Whatever, I'm an adult and he's teenager. He can't tell me what to do," she muttered to herself. Saying it aloud didn't make her feel any better. She couldn't make the butterflies in her stomach go away. "If he can risk his life in some crazy meta verse place, so can I."

With one last deep breath, she activated the app and spoke, "Mementos."

…

"Candidate found."

\- 9:30 PM -

"Akira! Are you actually insane!?"

Akira and Morgana stood at the starting point of Mementos.

"I don't have a choice, Morgana," Akira said, already heading to go deeper into the palace. "If you don't want to come, I won't hold it against you. But I have to go."

"Going into Mementos alone is practically suicide!" Morgana exclaimed, following after him. "We have to call the others."

"There's no time!" Akira was picking up his pace. "Gathering the Phantom Thieves right now could take an hour, maybe more. Sadayo is in there alone and defenseless! She could be-!"

Akira staggered, as if he had just gotten the wind knocked out of him. He leaned against the nearby wall for support. A sudden haunting realization had just washed over him., something he hadn't had time to think about earlier. "Oh god… I don't know how long she's been in here… she could be…"

Morgana climbed up onto Akira and grabbed both his cheeks and stretched his face. "No! We're not talking like that!" Morgana insisted "Kawakami is strong! She knows a thing or two about survival."

This helped Akira, he began to collect himself again. "You're right. She's strong. She's strong…"

"I don't like our chances with just the two of us going in… but it's better than going by yourself," Morgana commented, we should try to avoid confrontation with enemy shadows if possible.''

Akira nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Morgana," he said with a grateful smile. In a suddenly puff of smoke, Morgana transformed into a bus.

"Thank me after we find her- with sushi. Thank me with sushi."

\- 7:10 PM -

"What the hell?"

Hours earlier, Sadayo Kawakami stood where Akira and Morgana had when first entering mementos.

"Oh my god…"

The place was haunting. It felt unreal, unnatural. It was pulsing like a heartbeat, as if the tunnels themselves were alive. Red veins ran along the walls with an ominous red aura, a chilling wind blew through the corridor.

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god-"

Despite the haunting chill that sent shivers down Kawakami's spine. Something called to her, as if something wanted her to come deeper.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod-"

It was real. It was all real. All those things that Akira described, all the things that he said that sounded like disillusions and lunacy, she was seeing it with her own eyes. This was the embodiment of the hearts of the populace.

She began to journey deeper. What was she doing? She had promised herself that she would just peek and then go back. Her mind screamed for her not to go any farther and yet every fiber of her being wanted to venture forward. What did this world have to offer? She needed to see these shadows Akira spoke about.

Sadayo rounded the corner and her wish came true a small creature that looked like a jack-o'-lantern floated about holding a small lantern. In her sudden surprise she yelped with a start before quickly retreating behind the corner, covering her mouth with her hands.

She could hear the little creature shifting about and grumbling something. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, Sadayo wanted to run but her legs had suddenly stiffened and couldn't move. What if that was the monster that had hurt Akira so bad? She could hear it coming closer. Why didn't she think to bring a weapon? Sadayo found herself defenseless. She wanted to run but she just couldn't.

The shuffling drew closer.

The woman's eyes began to water. Why hadn't she just listened to Akira? She knew she was way in over her head. Now she was about to be taken out by a-

The creature rounded the corner. The two's eyes met and they both shouted with surprise. The jack-o'-lantern lunged forward and rammed up against Sadayo, knocking her to the ground. She let out a scream and struggled as she scratched it's face, causing it to shout in pain.

They struggled and rolled around on the ground, Sadayo hoping she could stagger it just long enough for her to get a running start. But before she got her chance the shadow raised it's hand with the lantern before bringing it down on Sadayo.

The impact against her head made her vision flash white and she lost of sense of direction and her surroundings as pain shot through her skull. As soon as her vision returned from white, it immediately began to fade to black. "Akira…" she murmured as she began to slip from consciousness. "Help…"

\- 11:00 PM -

"I want to kill her."

"Idiot, there have been assholes running around with crazy strong personas."

"And?"

"And I'm not risking hers coming out when you try to kill her."

"She might not even have one."

"That's not a chance I'm willing to take."

"I can handle it. A Jack-o'-Lantern knocked her out… a Jack-o'-Lantern!"

"Last time I attacked a human, I had to beg for my life and they took all my gold. No way I'm going through that again."

Sadayo's vision was blurry as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was pounding and she couldn't focus her vision as what appeared to be shapeless blobs danced before her.

"She's harmless, she practically wet her pants before."

"Just shut up, man. Let the big guys take care of her. I don't want any trouble."

She felt herself pressed a cold surface. Her body was leaned up against a hard wall. She blinked several times as her vision cleared. two creatures had their backs facing her. One was a strong looking ram with two large horns and the other was a man with wings.

"You mean I carried her all this way just to not kill her?" The ram creature asked.

As the two creatures argued, Sadayo put her hand to her pounding head and was surprised to feel warm, sticky blood left on her hand. The spot where she had been hit was bleeding. She began to look around and quickly noticed she had little to no options. Behind her was a dead end and in front of her the two shadows stood in her way.

She winced as she quietly picked herself up. She was missing a shoe but her purse was surprisingly still slung over her shoulder. Other than the pain of her pounding head, she felt okay. She didn't even have scratches from her kerfuffle with the Jack-o'-Lanturn.

Still trying to regain her balance, she had one hand against the wall to keep her propped up, her other hand dug through her purse. She quietly stepped towards the two creatures. Fear gripped her tighter and tighter with each step closer to them.

"Can I at least give her a nibble?" The ram asked.

"Absolutely not," the winged man replied.

"Hey-" Sadayo began. The two shadow jumped with a start and whipped around to turn to Sadayo, only to be met with pepper spray to the face. The spray was something Sadayo always kept handy in case she met a real creep during her time as a maid.

The shadows cried out in pain.

"AAGGGH! IT BURNS!"

"THAT'S CHEATING!"

Sadayo wasted no time to run past them as they both fell to the floor. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god!" She huffed as she ran. "I can't believe that worked I can't believe that worked I can't believe that worked-"

Her escape was cut short as she rounded the corner and ran into the back of another shadow, causing her to fall back to her seat. The shadow, who never even flinched upon impact, slowly turned around to look at her. It was a strange looking creature with the body of a snake, but the torso and head of a man, he had a deadly looking spear in his hand.

Sadayo didn't hesitate to give him the spray.

*Psssssst*

The creature didn't even blink.

"U-um, s-sorry!" Sadayo said as she tried to scramble away. She got to her feet and began running the other way, but yelp in surprise as the spear flew over her head and landed, wedged into the ground just in front of her.

She turned around and screamed as she saw the shadow slithering towards her. The shadow grabbed her and whirled around, slamming her against the wall.

Sadayo gasped as the wind was knocked out of her and pain shot through her body. She crumpled to the floor. As she tried to pick herself up the shadow grabbed her by the hair and put his spear to her neck. Sadayo wriggled and squirmed and tried to escape his grip but this only caused pain to shoot through her head as her hair was pulled.

"Pathetic, what are you doing this deep in Mementos?" The shadow asked. Sadayo couldn't find it in herself to respond, her eyes watering as the pain and fear sunk in.

"P-… Please…"

"Sorry… this isn't personal."

He stabbed the spear forward, Sadayo grabbed it with both her hands and tried to push it back. They struggled as they pushed the spear in opposite directions, Sadayo only able to match it's strength by using both her hands.

The cold tip tickled her skin.

"S-stop!"

The tip move about in the struggle, scratching against her skin. Sadayo cried out as her shirt was torn and her skin was pierced.

The blade entered her torso.

Sadayo's eyes widened as she felt her body go cold. She still struggled with the shadow as he tried to push the spear in deeper.

"If… you… kill… me…" Sadayo huffed as she fought, "Joker won't rest… until… you're dead…"

The struggle suddenly stopped. The shadow's voice shook, "Joker?"

Gun shots blasted and echoed through the empty corridors as several bullets flew into the shadow's body. The shadow hissed and slithered away from Sadayo as he took a defensive stance. Sadayo collapsed backwards, leaning against the wall of the corridor again.

"Morgana, it's all you!"

Powerful blasts of wind slammed against the shadow as it cried out in pain before it evaporated into dust. Frantic footsteps could be heard. Everything was happening so fast Sadayo barely had time to process it.

She turned towards the sound of the footsteps to see Akira dressed in strange attire running toward her. He had a mask on but he frantically took it off and threw it to the side as he fell to his knees and slid on the ground right up to her.

"Sadayo! Are you-" His breathing the heavy and frantic as his worried gaze darted around and his hands patted her down as he looked for injuries. His heart sunk as he saw her head wound and the wound from the spear. "Morgana!" He voice was cracking as he shouted. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Sadayo tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"A… Akira,' Sadayo said softly. "You found me…"

The boy's eyes were watering, Sadayo could feel the hot tears on her skin. Kawakami had never seen him cry before. "I thought…" his voice still cracking. "I thought I never would…"

"Akira… I'm so sorry…" Sadayo whispered. "I should have listened… I should have…"

He released his hold on her and put his finger to her lips. "Shh, no… this was my fault," he said. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve "If I had just agreed to show you the meta verse, you wouldn't have had to go in alone to see it."

"You were right… it was dangerous… I was just blinded by my curiosity," Sadayo told him, a lump in her throat made if hard to speak. Her eyes began to water as well.

Akira wiped away her tears with his thumb. Sadayo's breath quivered, but she felt relieved. She felt safe.

A weird looking feline creature with a large, round head scampered up to them. "Hello, Ms. Kawakami," he said. "You probably don't recognize me in this very handsome form, but I'm Morgana."

Kawakami blinked several times in confusion. But after the day she had been having, she decided not to question it. "Hello Morgana," she replied.

"He's going to give you that healing magic I've told you about," Akira said, grasping Sadayo's hand in his. "It should patch up your wounds without a problem."

"Did you say 'should,' Akira?" Morgana asked. "That would imply there's a chance this wouldn't go without a hitch. Everyone knows I'm a master of my craft."

Sadayo smiled gently. Suddenly all those one sided conversations she had seen Akira have with Morgana made more sense. The little cat had quite a bit of sass.

Akira's grip on Sadayo's hand tightened as Morgana began his spell. "You're going to be okay," Akira told her. "It's going to be okay…"

 _"I think she went this way!"_

 _"I'll kill that bitch when I find her!"_

Everyone's heads turned in the direction of voices that could be heard echoing down the corridor. "More shadows," Morgana simply stated.

Kawakami's heart skipped a beat as she realized the two shadows that had captured her had likely recovered. "Are they talking about you?" Akira asked, looking to Sadayo. He could feel her hand shaking in his.

She only nodded. "I-I… the pepper spray…" He gestured in the direction of her small spray that she had dropped during her encounter with the stronger shadow.

"I'll be right back," Akira said before he hastily jumped to his feet and sprinted down the corridor in the direction of the voices, where Sadayo had originally came from. He rounded the corner and out of sight.

"Hey, it's another one! Can I kill this-"

Silence.

\- 12:00 AM -

Sadayo Kawakami had heard many of Akira's strange tales about the meta verse. It sounded like something out of a comic book. But even hearing all these things and now finally seeing it for herself, watching his cat transform into a motor vehicle had become the strangest thing she had encountered yet. She was laying in the back of the van with Akira, her head resting in his lap.

They were tucked away in a dark corner, as Sadayo recovered from what had happened. After her previous throw down with the shadow from before, she wasn't quite mentally prepared to go back out there.

"You're strong," Akira told her. "You held your own against it for so long with no persona to help you… Naga is a strong shadow."

Sadayo held her hand to her torso where she had been stabbed. There wasn't even a scar there anymore thank's to Morgana's healing magic. She bit her bottom lip, she was probably going to have nightmares of that encounter for the rest of her life.

She instinctively held her hand over where she had been injured. It didn't hurt but the fact that it had healed so quickly was messing with her mind. Akira could feel her shaking as he gently ran his hand through her hair. "Let's go home," he said,

Sadayo rolled on her side and buried her face in his torso. She wasn't ready to get moving yet. They all sat there in silence for a while, Kawakami was trying to muster up the courage to stop hiding her face in Akira's stomach and face whatever they might encounter.

Akira watched as Sadayo instinctively reached down and her fingertips brushed against where she had been stabbed. There was a large rip in her yellow, long sleeve shirt that she always wore. Akira took her hand and guided it away from where her injury was. "Hey, you're alright," he told her. "You're safe."

In the distance there was the sound of rattling. Sadayo could feel Akira's body tense up immediately.

"Akira…" Morgana said.

The rattling continued. As the seconds passed, the faint sound became clearer and clearer. The was as if chains were grinding together, making Sadayo's hair stand on end.

"Shit," Akira spoke as he quickly got up from the seat and quickly made his way to the front of the van and sat in the driver's seat. "We've been here too long, we gotta get out of here."

The rattling grew louder. Akira slammed the gas and Morgana abruptly lunged forward. "Shit, shit, shit, shit-" Akira grumbled. A still shaken Sadayo climbed over the front seat and climbed her way to the passenger's seat. "W-what is it?"

"The reaper," Akira began. He spun the steering wheel causing Morgana to skid around the corner. "One of the toughest things you'll find here. Even with a full team we couldn't take it down."

"It comes after us if we stay in one place for too long," Morgana chimed in, his voice hiccuping as he ran over bumps along the path. "If it finds us, we're-"

There was a sudden roar as something slammed into Morgana from the side, causing him to slam into the wall of the corridor. Kawakami's eyes widened as she saw a large, eerie shadow looming over them. It held two very long revolvers in either hand and the chains that loomed around it's body rattling together.

Akira was quick to jump out of the van. "Morgana, get Sadayo out of here!" he exclaimed, pulling out his pistol and shooting the reaper several times.

"But Akira-!" Morgana began.

"Do not bullshit with me right now, Morgana!" Akira practically scream back. The fierce authority in his voice send a chill down Sadayo's spine. Morgana's wheels kicked up dust as they spun in place momentary before friction finally kicked in and he sped forward with full force.

"Morgana! W-we can't leave him back there with that thing!" Sadayo exclaimed as she grabbed hold of the steering wheel, sticking her head out the window to look back at Akira. She watched as the Reaper effortlessly picked him up and threw him into the wall, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"Sorry Ms. Kawakami but Akira- h-hey!" Morgana's statement was quickly interrupted as Sadayo scooted over to the drivers seat and slammed on the breaks and spun the steering wheel causing Morgana to make an abrupt U-turn. She slammed on the gas and the wheels kicked up a cloud of dirt before they sped forward at top speed towards the reaper.

The shadow pointed it's revolver at Akira's head and began to pull the trigger before Morgana slammed into it. Sadayo opened the door to the van. "Get in the van!"

Akira staggered as he stood up. "I told you to get out of here, I'll hold it-"

"Akira, I swear to god, get in the damn van!" Sadayo screamed, her voice cracking. She reached out and grabbed him by his trench coat and pulled him into the van with every ounce of strength she had. Morgana didn't hesitate to charge ahead at full speed away from the Reaper. The shadow let out a bloodcurdling roar and gave chase after them.

Sadayo took the steering wheel again and made a sharp turn around the corner. Akira popped out of the window of the van and fired his gun at the Reaper several times, nailing it in the forehead and causing it to stagger. This bought them several seconds to lose it.

"To the left! If we go through the exit we'll get to a safe zone!" Akira exclaimed. Sadayo spun the wheel without hesitation and slammed the break to come to a stop. They jumped from the van and Morgana changed back to his cartoonish cat form and they dashed towards the exit, leaving the screams of the Reaper behind them.

\- 1:00 AM -

Akira fell to the subway floor, Morgana landed on his head and bounced to the floor, Sadayo Kawakami fell on top of Akira. All three of them groaned in union. They managed to return to the real world in the subway station where Sadayo had initially activated the app to enter Mementos. Luckily this late into the night there weren't many people around and they weren't drawing anyone's attention.

All three were quick to get up and brush themselves off, collectively letting out a sigh of relief. The usual stink of the subway station had a welcoming familiarity to Sadayo.

The adrenaline rush suddenly subsided and all the energy she had left her body. Her knees buckled and her vision lost focus a little. She fell forward but Akira was quick to catch her in his arms. "Sadayo, are you alright?" Akira asked worriedly.

Putting one hand on her head and another on Akira's shoulder, Sadayo pushed herself back up. "Yeah, just a little light headed…" she murmured.

Akira looked down at Morgana, who had reverted back to his real world cat form. "You can head on home, Morgana," Akira said. "I'll take Sadayo home."

Morgana, who had been licking himself, stood back up and stretched. "Okay, but you still owe me sushi," he reminded Akira as he began to stroll away. "And don't think that I'll forget."

Sadayo watched as Morgana trotted up the subway stairs. "I can understand him…" she murmured.

Akira was about to respond, but they were interrupted by the sound of the subway train coming into the station. A gust of wind rustled their hair as the train slowed to a stop and the doors opened for them to enter. With Sadayo still in Akira's arms, they somewhat awkwardly enter the train car and Akira sat Sadayo down in the nearest seat.

The two sat in silence as the doors closed and the subway began to move forward. Sadayo rested her head on Akira's shoulder.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Sadayo asked quietly.

Akira's chest puffed as he huffed in slight amusement. "Well, you were acting strange at the cafe before you left," he explained as he dug through his pocket and pulled out his phone. "And you weren't responding to any of my texts, usually that time of day you always respond immediately," he turned on his phone and opened up his message's app. Sadayo could see the several text messages he had sent to her a while after she had entered the meta verse.

"Was I really that obvious at the cafe?" She asked him, she took his free hand in her and intertwined their fingers.

A smile crept up on Akira's face. "We both know you aren't very good at hiding things," he told her. He thought back to when she had told him that she was working for as a maid for her nonexistent sick sister. She looked so ashamed that she wasn't being honest that she couldn't look in his direction as she had spoke. Over time, Akira had picked up on Kawakami's quirks. She twirled her hair around her finger when she was nervous and the smile she would put on wasn't her usual genuine one.

"Hey," Akira said suddenly, he was gently running his fingers through Sadayo's hair. "Thanks for saving me back there."

Sadayo looked up at him with confusion. "The Reaper," Akira reminded her. "I was never going to be able to take it down all on my own. You came back for me."

Sadayo placed her head back on his shoulder. "That was pretty scary," she said, rubbing her arm with her hand. "I thought we were all going to die."

The clacking of the subway train on the tracks was melodic and usually put her to sleep, but today it reminded her of Mementos. While Sadayo hadn't seen any subway cars in the meta verse, the faint clacking was always there in the background. It was haunting, like an oncoming train that she couldn't avoid.

As her grasp on her hand tightened, Akira gave her a worried look. "Akira," Sadayo murmured quietly.

A gentle hum of acknowledgement came from Akira.

"Stay with me tonight…" she said softly.

\- 3:00 AM -

Akira laid in Sadayo's bed staring at the ceiling. He had kicked off his shoes and flopped down on the bed, and hadn't moved in quite some time. Sadayo was in the shower, the sound of running water could be heard down the hall, muffled through the walls.

 _I almost lost her._

The image of that shadow pinning Sadayo to the wall as his spear pierced her torso was etched in Akira's mind. Akira thanked his lucky star that the pointed tip hadn't struck anything vital, else Morgana's healing magic may not have saved her. He held up his hand, her blood still lined the creases of his palm. He clenched his fist shut until his knuckles turned white. He wanted to kill that shadow again. He wanted to make it pay for the pain it had caused.

 _Igor's fault… this is all Igor's fault…_

The thought kept running through his head but he wasn't buying it. It was like Igor said, Sadayo made her choice. She could have told him about the app but she knew exactly what he would say and do. She went into the meta verse on her own because she knew Akira would try to stop her.

Akira wanted to be angry at her but he knew that he would have done the exact same thing, except he wouldn't have been smart enough to take pepper spray and would have died.

He rolled his head to gaze towards the door and down the hall. The shower was still going. He knew that women typically took longer showers but Sadayo had been there for almost an hour.

He slowly picked himself up out of the bed and made his way down the hall. He stood on the other side of the door for a moment, he didn't hear anything shuffling or movement, just the sound of running water.

"S-… Sadayo?" He asked, lightly tapping on the door.

There was no sound in response, just the continuing sound of running water. Akira looked around awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Are you okay?" he asked, gently resting his hand on the door. There was still no answer.

Gently, Akira grasped the doorknob and was surprised to find it was unlocked. "I'm… I'm coming in…" he said. "Scream or something if that's a bad idea."

Still no answer.

He gently turned the knob and opened the door. A burst of humidity and mist swept past the opening door as he stepped into the bathroom. Sadayo's clothes were lazily strewn across the floor, and Akira's heart skipped a beat. Sadayo was curled up in a ball in the corner of the shower, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, which pressed up against her chest and buried her face.

Akira instinctively averted his eyes, his withdrawn gaze falling on a large body towel that hung on a rack. He grabbed the towel and turned the shower faucet to stop the water. With the room suddenly stilled with silence, Akira could hear the very faint sobbing that came from Sadayo. The events of the day were starting to completely sink in.

He stepped into the shower, Sadayo didn't move or look up at him. Biting his bottom lip Akira began to drape the towel over her, crouching down and began to dry her hair. His hands shook as he draped the towel over her shoulders and wrapped it around her.

Sadayo finally looked up after Akira sat down in the shower next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closely. "It's okay," Akira whispered. "You're okay."

\- 1:00 PM -

Akira's eyes slowly fluttered open. The bed he laid on shook a little, and the sound of groaning could be heard from the opposite side of the bed. He reached over the side of his bed to check his phone, letting out an audible sigh as he realized how late it was. He and Sadayo had been up late the previous night and sleep had not come easily to either of them.

The bed continued to wiggle and shake and Akira rolled over to see Sadayo was still asleep, now dressed in a loose tank top and sweatpants. She was tossing and turning, her face was twisted into an unpleasant expression and her groaning continued.

"Sadayo?" Akira asked, gently placing his hand on the woman's shoulder.

Sadayo's eyes shot open and she screamed before she decked Akira in the face. The impact sent him tumbling over the side of the bed and onto the floor.

…

Blinking several times in confusion, Sadayo flinched as pain shot through her hand. If her hand hurt this bad then Akira- "Oh my god," she scrambled to the side of the bed and peered over, looking down at Akira who was recovering from a daze. "A-Akira I'm so sorry," she got up and helped the boy to his feet.

Akira held his hand to his cheek, he wasn't expecting to get punched in the first place but he especially didn't expect Sadayo to pack so much of a punch. "Yeah, I've taken worse," he said, there was concern in his voice but it was direction towards Sadayo. "Were you having a nightmare?"

In the moment, Sadayo couldn't remember, the memory of her dreams were not something that often stuck around. But as she began to think, the image of the shadow holding her against the wall and stabbing her appeared clear in her mind. Her stomach twisted into a knot and she gagged, feeling like she might puke. Her hands instinctively placed where the wound would have been. It almost felt worse that there was no trace of the stab. It was as if it had never even happened in the first place.

Was last night just some weird sick dream? Doubt flashed through Sadayo's mind at first as the bizarre tale seemed so unreal, but the pain of being stabbed and the stench of Mementos were so deeply ingrained in her mind that there was no way it had been a dream.

"Sadayo?"

The woman snapped from her trance as Akira called her name. She looked over at him in confusion before flopping back down on the bed, burying her face in the sheets. Akira sat down next to her and gently rubbed her back.

"Are you going to be okay?" Akira asked with a concerned look.

Sadayo rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around last night. It was traumatizing but it doesn't feel real."

Akira noticed Sadayo's phone on the floor, it peaked out of the pocket of the now bloodstained skirt she had worn the day before. He reached over and picked up the phone, looking over at Sadayo. She didn't seem hesitant of him having her phone so he turned it on. The screen lit up and a home menu full of icons appeared.

"That bastard…" Akira muttered as he saw the bright red icon on the screen. "So you got the navigator app…" he said.

Sitting up, Kawakami scooted closer to Akira. "Yeah, it just appeared out of no where," she said.

"It always does," Akira muttered.

"Where does it come from?" she asked. "Is it a virus?"

Akira handed her the phone. "Would you believe me if I told you an old man with a giant nose that lives in the meta verse gives it to people?"

A huff of amusement came from Sadayo as she put her phone away. "At this point, yes," she admitted.

In that moment, a low grumble could be heard coming from Akira's stomach. "It's a bit past lunchtime," Sadayo said, checking the clock on her phone. "You want to get something?"

Akira grinned. "That sounds good," he told her. "We uh… we'll have to make an extra stop though."

\- 2:00 PM -

"I want that one… and that one… and that one…"

Kawakami couldn't stop staring at Morgana as she watched the cat talk. He pointed his paw to different sushi's as they came past on a conveyer belt.

"And that one…"

Sadayo felt like a character in some silly children's movie where the main character finds out they have a magical pet that can talk. Sadayo had seen Morgana many times before when she had come over to visit Akira, whether it be as a maid or otherwise, yet now it was like new life had been breathed into Morgana. He was much more animated and expressive, and Sadayo couldn't place if this was new or if Morgana had always been like that, but now that she could hear his voice it brought his expressiveness more to life.

"And that one-"

Checking around to see if she was going crazy, Sadayo watched as people walked by, not paying any heed to the cat in Akira's lap, calling out every sushi dish that he wanted, and by every dish he wanted, he meant every dish that came by.

"And that one-"

"Alright, if you have any more, you're going to get yourself sick," Akira stopped Morgana.

"Yeah but obviously I'm going to save those for later," Morgana insisted, licking his paw as if to clean them before eating.

"I think we both know you won't be saving any of this for later," Akira told him. "Sadayo can you talk some sense into him?"

Blinking in confusion, Sadayo pointed to herself. Was Akira asking her to speak to the cat? "I- um- I-" she found herself stammering as the two watched her try to find her words. Morgana's eyes seemed to gaze deep into hers which only disoriented her more.

"I think she agrees with me," Akira said, taking the sushi Morgana had chosen before they began to walk away.

"What!? She didn't even say anything!" Morgana whined.

Watching them walk away, Sadayo pinched herself and slapped her cheeks a few times as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Seeing that she hadn't woken up in her bed, she proceeded to follow Akira, who was still bickering with Morgana. Now people were given him strange looks, though Sadayo could only assume that it was because he was very obviously talking to a cat. Akira seemed to be completely oblivious to them though, so Sadayo grabbed his arm and pulled him to a table where they all sat down. "You two are making a scene," she warned them.

Morgana excitedly pawed Akira's cheek. "She finally talked to me," he said. Sadayo very suddenly remembered she was going insane.

"How come I could never understand you before?" She decided to asked, Akira handed the first meal of sushi to Morgana before passing one to Sadayo and serving one to himself. "You used to sound like a regular cat."

Morgana also didn't hear her as he drooled over his sushi but a pat on the side from Akira snapped him back to reality. "Oh… we don't really know," he said nonchalantly. "Seems like once someone is exposed to the meta-verse, they have the ability to understand me."

"Morgana is our expert on how the meta-verse works but he can't really explain any of the science behind it," Akira explained.

Sadayo picked at her food. "I think the I've wrapped my head around the meta verse because the whole thing was weird," she said. "Like I was completely surrounded by this distorted world. But seeing your cat talk at the sushi place I eat at regularly is-"

"You'll get used to it, they always do," Morgana said, he had finished his sushi in the time between Sadayo starting and ending her statement. Akira handed over the next course. "Also, I'm not a cat."

Sadayo tilted her head in confusion and looked at Akira and then back at Morgana. "But you look like one…" she said.

"I'm just trapped in this form, someday I'll be human and have thumbs and go on dates with Ann."

Sadayo looked back at Akira. "So you weren't kidding about that yesterday," she said.

Akira couldn't hide the dumb smirk on his face. "Nope," he confirmed. "I haven't been kidding about anything."

"Wait so if you're human, how did you turn into a cat?" Sadayo asked.

"He also has amnesia," Akira was quick to clear up.

The talking cat from that was also supposedly human that could also turn into a van had amnesia and a crush on one of her students. Sadayo was never going to see Morgana as the innocent, cute, black cat again.

\- 4:00 PM -

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Akira asked. "I wouldn't mind staying another night."

He, Sadayo, and Morgana had returned to her apartment, where they stood at the door to say goodbye for the day.

"It's okay, I wouldn't want to wake up to me hitting you again," Sadayo gave Akira an apologetic look. "Besides, Sojiro probably wouldn't be happy with you being absent two nights in a row."

"I think he'd be okay with it if he knew I was with a girl, which he does, may I remind you," Akira still hadn't been able to let that go, Sojiro made it particularly difficult with the teasing and the prying.

Sadayo giggled and gave Akira a smile. "I appreciate the thought, but I think I'll be fine," she said.

Akira reached out and grasped her right hand in both of his. "Don't… please don't go back," he said quietly. "I know that's hypocritical of me to ask but-"

"I get it," Sadayo cut him off. "I saw what was there, I saw what you could do in there that I can't, and I know you don't go in there alone." She clasped her free hand over his. "It was seriously stupid of me to try to go in there by myself."

"No," Akira told her. "No one can blame you for wanted to go and see the meta-verse for yourself. If I had just understood that sooner I would have just shown you myself, which would have been much safer." They had gone through this conversation a few times in the last twenty four hours.

Sadayo placed her hand gently on Akira's cheek. "Stop blaming yourself for everything," she said. "I'm an adult. I make my own decisions and have to deal with the consequences." She stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the lips.

She smiled at Morgana and reached out and scratched him behind his ears, earning a soft purr. "Thank you Morgana from coming to save me," she said, he didn't bother respond and rather continued to purr as she scratched him.

"Make sure you text me later and stay out of trouble," Sadayo told Akira as she reluctantly unlocked her door.

Akira smiled. "I can't promise the latter," he told her.

"Oh I know," Sadayo said as the lock clicked and the door opened. "I just need to tell you now so I can scold you later. I'm still your teacher after all."

* * *

 _Fin. See you in the next fic ~_


End file.
